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The Authority on the Subject Price 50c. 

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Klondyke 

Facts 

A Complete Guide Book to the Great Gold Regions 
of the Northwest Territories and Alaska 



N"UGi.i;r FRii:*! the klondyke 



BY 

Joseph Ladue 

Founder of Dawson City, N. W. T. 

NEW YORK 

AHERICAN TECHNICAL BOOK COMPANY 

45 VESEY STREET 



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KLONDYKE FACTS 

BEING A COMPLETE 

GUIDE BOOK TO THE GOLD REGIONS 



OF THE GREAT 



CANADIAN NORTHWEST TERRITORIES 

AND 

ALASKA 



BY JOSEPH LADUE 

AUTHOR OF " KLONDYKE NUGGETS," AND FOUNDER OF DAWSON CITY, N.W.T, 



^ 



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NEW YORK 

AMERICAN TECHNICAL BOOK CO., 

45 Vesey Street. 



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Copyright, 1897, 
By AMERICAN TECHNICAL BOOK CO. 



All Rizhts Reserved 



No extracts can be made without the permission of the Publishers/ 



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if 

PUBLISHER\S NOTE. 



The intense excitement ciiused by the marvellous discov- 
eries of gold in Alaska and the great Canadian Northwest 
makes it necessary that authentic facts regarding this 
region should be supplied to the reading public. 

It is with pleasure that Ave introduce Mr. Joseph Ladue, 
the pioneer prospector and founder of Dawson City, N. 
^■y. T., the central point of the gold region, as the author 
• f this valuable work of reliable information. 

There is probably no man living who is better posted on 
Alaska and the great Northwest than Mr. Joseph Ladue. 
He has just returned from that country to his old home in 
Schuyler Falls, N. Y., where he passed a large portion of 
his boyhood and early nuinhood. Mr. Ladue left his home 
nearly twenty years ago to seek his fortune in the "West, 
going first to the Black Hills, where he was successful in 
gold mining, thence to Arizona and the Pacific Coast, and 
finally located in Alaska and the Northwest Territories, 
where he has been since 1883. Mr. Ladue is a typical 
pioneer, strong, hardy and resolute, a man of iron, as one 
must needs be to go through the hardships he has and 
come out with a constitution unbroken and unimpaired at 
the age of about forty-three. Mr. Ladue has not only 
worked his muscles to good advantage to himself with the 
result of an abundance of this world's goods, but he has 
evidently all this time been closely observing the conditions 
of that strange country, the Yukon Valley, which has so 
suddenly become one of the great centres upon which 
human interest throughout the world is focussed. 

3 



4 PUBLISHER'S NOTE. 

When the wonderful stories began to come down from 
the Yukon country it was naturally concluded that it was 
at least half exaggeration. That any such amount of gold 
could be taken in so short a time from a country like 
that under the most unfavorable conditions was held to be 
incredible. But when the great bags of virgin gold began 
to be poured out upon the mint counters in San Francisco 
under the eyes of the whole world (for modern journalism 
does this annihilating of time and space) people began to 
wonder, and the wonder grew day by day as the real facts 
were disclosed ; and now people who are well informed as to 
the facts declare that half the truth has not been told of 
the golden treasures of the Yukon Yalley. 

As we have already said, there is probably no man to-day 
alive Avho knows more about this wonderful country than 
does Mr. Ladue. What makes his talk of it specially 
interesting and reliable is the fact that his knowledge of 
it is practical. It has not been gained from hearsay nor 
from desultory visits made now and then at certain favorable 
seasons of the year, but from steady living there through 
the long summer days and the long winter nights, year in 
and year out, for fifteen years, where he now owns thirteen 
of the best mining claims on the Klondyke and 173 acres 
of land at Dawson City. 

In presenting this work to the })ul-)lic we do so knowing 
that it is by an authority on the subject of which he 
writes. 

THE rUBLISIlEES 




THIS MAP SUOWfe TUE STREAM ON \^HICH THE TLACEK CLAIMS /RE LOCATED 



CONTENTS. 



CHAP. PAGE 

Publishers' Note 3 

Introduction 7 

I. Historical and GeograiAieal 9 

II. Routes, Distances and Transportation 21 

III. Advices to Beginners 86 

IV. Outfit for Miners 89 

V. How to stake out a Mining Claim 93 

VI. Placer Mining 95 

VII. Mining Law and Order 101 

VIII. Mining Returns 107 

IX. Game, Agriculture and Timber 110 

X. Mortality and Climate 120 

XI, Cost of Living and Wages Paid 125 

XII. Miners' Luck 127 

XIII. Klondyke Facts 150 

Appendix. 

Excerpts from thelMiningLawsof the Canadian Northwest 

Territory 191 



INTRODUCTION. 



Much has appeared in the newspapers of the world re- 
garding the newly discovered gold-fields of Alaska and 
the great Canadian Northwest. 

To one who has prospected and lived in these territories 
for the past fifteen years, it is deplorable that so much un- 
reliable information has appeared. 

My object is not to induce any one to go to that remote 
country at the j^resent time ; until better means of com- 
munication are established, a man undertakes serious risks 
in going there unless he has sufficient resources to tide 
over the long winter. After September, egress from the 
country is practically impossible until the following June, 
and a person who has not been successful in locating a pay- 
ing claim has to depend for his subsistence upon finding 
employment. Wages are at times abnormally high, but 
the labor market is very narrow and easily overstocked. 
It is estimated that up to the middle of May 1,500 to IjCOO 
people had crossed the Taiya Pass this year. Whether em- 
ployment Avill be available for all and for the considerable 
population already in the district is somewhat doul)tful ; 
it will therefore be wise for those who contemplate going 
to the Yukon District to give serious consideration to the 
matter before coming to a decision. 

Having recently returned for a short time to my old 
home I find myself deluged with letters from all classes 
of men eagerly seeking facts relative to the new gold region. 
As it is impossible to reply to all these letters in a manner 



8 INTBOBUCTION. 

that would be adequate and complete, I have decided to 
publish some of my observations and experiences in the 
land that is yet comparatively unexplored. I will give the 
actual facts and such information as I think will be valu- 
able to the intending prospectors of the new gold regions. 

JOSEPH LADUE. 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

HISTORICAL AXD GEOGRAPHICAL. 

The discovery of tlie great Yukon River and tlie territory 
drained by it is due to the Hudson Bay Company and the 
adventurous officers wlio directed its interests in British 
North America. Indeed, the discovery of the Yukon it- 
self is due to Robert Campbell, an employe of the company, 
who named it the Pelley River in honor of Sir H. Pelley, 
a governor of the company. 

In 18G7 Frank E. Ketchum, of St. John, N. B., and 
Michael Labarge of Montreal, explorers in the emjjloy of 
the Western Union Telegraph Company, ascended the Yu- 
kon from Fort Yukon to the mouth of the Lewes, return- 
ing down the river, and in the same year Michael Byrnes, in 
the same employ, made a trip from the direction of the 
Stikine and reached the Hootolinqua, not the river subse- 
quently so called by the miners, but that on the survey map 
of Canada. 

Mr. Whymper in 18G9, in his work. '^Travels iu 
Alaska and on the Yukon," makes the first distinct men- 
tion in print of the discovery of gold. The report of 
Campbell to the Hudson Bay Company directors was made 
orally. Mr. Whymper in his book says : " It is worthy 



10 KLONBYKE FACTS. 

of mention that minute specks of gold have been found by 
some of the Hudson Bay Company's men in the Yukon, 
but not in quantities to warrant a **rush " to the locality/' 

George Holt, who afterward was murdered by Indians 
at Cook's Inlet, was the first white man who crossed from 
the coast to the headwaters of the Lewes, with no purpose 
other than prospecting the country. The date is variously 
set from 1872 to 1878, but the preponderance of testimony 
makes the latter date the more probable one. He was 
accompanied by two Indians and crossed by the Chilkoot 
Pass. On his return he reported the discovery of "^ coarse 
gold." His trip was authenticated by inquiry among 
miners who had followed the routes he told them of. 

The Yukon district is not the entirely wild, savage, un- 
known land which romancists have been painting it. Gold, 
in paying quantities has been found there for over a decade. 
In 1887 a hundred and fifty hardy miners, making no secret 
of the wealth of the drift they washed, amassed fortunes 
there. 

The Yukon District has been growing, as access to the 
country became more easy and the output has been the 
greater only because the placer diggings have been extend- 
ed and have been worked by more hands. Add to the 
present comparative facility of reaching there the general 
diffusion of knowledge of the wealth of the mineral 
through the newsi^apers and the consequent interest ex- 
cited, and you have explained the difference between the 
excitement of 1897 and the languor of 1887. And yet, in 
1887, Dr. George M. Dawson, the chief of an exjjloring 
party sent by the Canadian Government into the Yukon 
district made a report confirming in the fullest the pres- 
ence of gold in great quantities. Dawson, City, N. W. T,, 
the principal mining camp in the Klondyke region, was 
named in his honor. 

Possibly the conjecture, accej^ted as a fact, that this 



ELONDYKE FACTS. U 

land, in the language of a late Canadian cabinet minister, 
was " the home of the bear and the wolf, and fit only to be 
the home of such," had something to do with the indiffer- 
ence. With the Yukon, snow that was practically perpet- 
ual, and great mountains of ice seemed indissolubly con- 
nected. It was taken for granted that it was a land not 
lit to live in and that stories from it had to be accepted 
with great allowance for the extravagance of language in 
which men who lived in Arctic lands are likely to indulge 
Avhen they reach territory, where the sun gives warmth, 
for warmth is conducive to garrulity and exuberance of 
thought. 

In 1859 negotiations were commenced between Russia 
and the United States with the view of the United States 
purchasing Russian America, or Alaska, a territory of over 
five hundred thousand square miles. 

In March, 18G7, Secretary Seward made an offer of 
17,200,000, on condition that the cession be " free and un- 
encumbered by any reservations, privileges, franchises, 
grants or possessions, by associated or unassociated com- 
panies whether corporated or unincorporated, Russian or 
any other." 

In May the treaty was ratified, and on the 20th of July 
1867 the usual proclamation was issued by the President of 
the United States, 

On the 18th of October, 18G7, the formal transfer of 
Alaska was made at Sitka to General Rousseau representa- 
tive of the United States. 

The treaty between Russia and the United States, estab- 
lishes the eastern and southern boundary lines as arranged 
hy Russia and (ireat Britain in 1825. The western line in- 
cludes the whole of the Aleutian Islands. Attou is dis- 
tinctly named as the most westerly island ceded. The 
northern boundary is only limited by the ice and snow of 
the Arctic. 



12 ELONDYEE FACTS. 



THE TUKON RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 

" What the Amazon is to South America, the Mississippi 
to the central portion of the United States, the Yukon is 
to Alaska. It is a great inland highway, which will make 
it possible for the explorer to j^enetrate the mysterious fast- 
nesses of that still unknown region. The Yukon has its 
source in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia and 
the Coast Range Mountains in southeastern Alaska, about 
125 miles from the city of Juneau, which is the present 
metropolis of Alaska. But it is only known as the Yukon 
River at the point where the Pelly River, the branch that 
heads in British Columbia, meets with the Lewes River, 
which heads in southeastern Alaska. This point of con- 
fluence is at Fort Selkirk, in the Northwest Territory, 
about 125 miles southeast of the Klondyke. The Yukon 
proper is 2,044 miles in length. From Fort Selkirk it 
flows northwest 400 miles, just touching the Arctic circle ; 
^lience southward for a distance of 1,600 miles, where it 
empties into Behring Sea. It drains more than 000,000 
square miles of territory, and discharges one-third more 
water into Behring Sea than does the Mississippi into the 
Gulf of Mexico. At its moutli it is sixty miles wide. 
About 1,500 miles inland it widens out from one to ten 
miles. A thousand islands send the channel in as many 
different directions. Only natives who are thoroughly 
familiar with tlie river are entrusted with the piloting of 
boats up the stream during the season of low water. Even 
at the season of high water it is still so shallow as not to 
be navigable anywhere by seagoing vessels, but only by flat- 
bottomed boats with a carrying capacity of four to five 
hundred tons. The draft of steamers on the Yukon 
should not exceed three and a half feet. 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 13 

^'The Yukon district, which is within the jurisdiction 
of the Canadian Government and in which tlie bulk of the 
gold has been found, has a total area, approximately, of 
192,000 square miles, of whicli 150, 7G8 square miles are 
included in the watershed of the Yukon. Illustrating this, 
so that it may appeal with definiteness to the reader, it 
may be said that tliis territory is greater by 71,100 square 
miles than the area of Great Britain, and is nearly three 
times that of all the New England States combined. 

"A further fact must be borne in mind. The Yukon 
Eiver is absolutely closed to navigation during the 
winter months. In the winter the frost-king asserts his 
dominion and locks up all approaches with impenetrable 
ice, and the summer is of the briefest. It endures only 
for twelve to fourteen weeks, from about the first of 
June to the middle of September. Then an unend- 
ing panorama of extraordinary picturesqueness is unfolded 
to the voyager. The banks are fringed with flowers, 
carpeted with the all-pervading moss or tundra. Birds 
countless in numbers and of infinite variety in plumage, 
sing out a welcome from every treetop. Pitch your tent 
where you will in midsummer, a bed of roses, a clump of 
poppies and a bunch of bluebells will adorn your camping. 
But high above this paradise of almost tropical exuberance 
giant glaciers sleep in the summit of the mountain wall, 
Avhich rises up from a bed of roses. By September every- 
thing is changed. The bed of roses has disappeared be- 
fore the icy breath of the winter king, which sends the 
thermometer down sometimes to seventy degrees below 
freezing point. The birds fly to the southland and the 
bear to his sleeping chamber in the mountains. Every 
stream becomes a sheet of ice, mountain and valley alike are 
covered with snow till the following May. 

'• That part of the basin of the Yukon in which gold in 
gi-eater or less quantities has actually been found lies partly 



14 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

in Alaska and partly in British territory. It covers an area 
of some 50,000 square miles. But so far the infinitely 
richest spot lies some one hundred miles east of the 
American boundary, in the region drained by the Klondyke 
and its tributaries. This is some three hundred miles by 
river from Circle City. 

" "VVe have described some of the beauties of the Yukon 
basin in the summer season, but this radiant picture has 
its obverse side. 

" Horseflies, gnats and mosquitoes add to the joys of liv- 
ing throughout the entire length of the Yukon valley. 
The horsefly is larger and more poignantly assertive than 
the insect which we know by that name. In dressing or 
undressing, it has a pleasant habit of detecting any bare 
spot in the body and biting out a piece of flesh, leaving a 
Avound which a few days later looks like an incipient boil. 
Schwatka reports that one of his party, so bitten was com- 
pletely disabled for a week. ' At the moment of infliction.' 
he adds, ' it was hard to believe that one was not disabled 
for life.' 

" The mosquitoes according to the same authority are 
equally distressing. They are especially fond of cattle, 
but without any reciprocity of affection. ' According to 
the general terms of the survival of the flttest and the 
growth of muscles most used to the detriment of others,' 
says the lieutenant in an unusual burst of humor, ''a band 
of cattle inhabiting this district, in the far future, would be 
all tail and no body, unless the mosquitoes should ex^ierience 
a change of numbers.' " 

I am indebted to Wm. Ogilvie, Esq., for the following 
valuable information relative to The Yukon District. 

*' Tlie Yukon District comprises, speaking generally, tliat 
part of the Northwest Territories lying west of the water 
shed of the Mackenzie River ; most of it is drained by the 
Yukon River and its tributaries. It covers a distance 



KLONBYKE FACTS. 15 

of about 650 miles along the river from the coast range of 
mountains. 

" In 1848 Campbell established Fort Selkirk at the conflu- 
ence of the Pelly and Lewes Rivers ; it was plundered and 
destro3'ed in 1852 by the Coast Indians, and only the ruins 
nov,' exist of what was at one time the most important post 
of the Hudson's Bay Company to the west of the Rocky 
Mountains in the far north. In 1809 the Hudson's Bay 
Company's oflicer was expelled from Fort Yukon by the 
United States Government, they liaving ascertained by as- 
tronomical observations that the post was not located in 
British territory. The officer thereupon ascended the 
Porcupine to a point which was supposed to be within 
British jurisdiction, where he established Rampart House ; 
but in 1800 Mr. J. II. Turner of the United [States Coast 
Survey found it to be 20 miles within the lines of the 
United States. Consequently in 1801 the post was moved 
20 miles further up the river to be Avithin British territor3\ 

" The next people to enter the country for trading pur- 
poses were Messrs. Harper and McQuestion. They have 
been trading in the country since 1873 aiul have occupied 
numerous posts all .dong the river, the greater number of 
which have been abandoned. ]\Ir. IL.irpcr is now located 
as a trader at Fort Selkirk, with ^Ir. Joseph Laduc under 
the firm name of Harper & Ladue, ;'.nd }.Ir. McQuestion is 
in the employ of the Alaska Commercial Company at 
Circle City, which is tlie distributing point for the vast 
regions surrounding Birch Creek, Alaska. In 1883 a 
number of miners entered the Yukon country by the 
Taiya Pass ; it is still the only route used to any extent by 
the miners, and is shorter than the other passes though 
not the lowest. In 1883 Lieutenant Schwatka crossed 
this same pass and descended the Lewes and Yukon 
Rivers to the ocean. 

''The explorers found that in proximity to the boundary 



16 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

line there existed extensive and valuable placer gold mines, 
in Avhicli even then as many as three hundred miners 
were at work. Mr. Ogilvie determined, by a series of lunar 
observations, the point at which the Yukon River is in- 
tersected by the 141st meridian, and marked the same on 
the ground. He also determined and marked the point at 
which the western affluent of the Yukon, known as Forty 
Mile Creek, is crossed by the same meridian line, that 
point being situated at a distance of about twenty-three 
miles from the mouth of the creek. This survey proved 
that the place which had been selected as the most con- 
venient, owing to the physical conformation of the region, 
from which to distribute the supplies imjaorted for the 
various mining camps, and from which to conduct the 
other business incident to the mining operations — a place 
situate at the confluence of the Forty Mile Creek and the 
Yukon, and to which the name of Fort Cudahy has been 
given — is well within Canadian territory. The greater 
proportion of the mines then being worked Mr. Ogilvie 
found to be on the Canadian side of the international 
boundary line, but he reported the existence of some min- 
ing fields to the south, the exact position of which with 
respect to the boundary he did not have the opportunity 
to fix. 

" The number of persons engaged in mining in the 
locality mentioned has steadily increased year by year since 
the date of Mr. Ogilvie's survey, and it is estimated that at 
the commencement of the j^ast season not less than one 
thousand men were so employed. Incident to this mineral 
development there must follow a corresjoonding growth in 
the volume of business of all descrijitions, particularly the 
importation of dutiable goods, and the occupation of tracts 
of the public lands for mining purposes which according 
to the mining regulations are subject to the payment of 
certain prescribed dues and charges. The Alaska Com- 



KLONDTKE FACTS. 17 

mercial Company, for many years subsequent to the retire- 
ment of the Hudson's Bay Company, had a practical 
monopoly of tlio trade of the Yukon, carrying into the 
country and delivering ?;t various points along the river, 
without regard to the international boundary line or the 
customs laws and regulations of Canada, such articles of 
commerce as were required for the prosecution of the fur 
trade and latterly of placer mining, these being the only 
two existing industries. With the discovery of gold, how- 
ever, came the organization of a competing company known 
as the North American Transportation and Trading Com- 
pany, having its headquarters in Chicago and its chief 
trading and distributing post at Cudahy. This company 
has been engaged in this trade for over three years, and 
during the past season despatched two ocean steamers 
from San Francisco to St. Michael, at the mouth of the 
Yukon, the merchandise from which was, at the last men- 
tioned point, transhipped into river steamers and carried 
to points inland, but chiefly to the comjiany's distributing 
centre within Canadian territory. Imj)ortations of con- 
siderable value, consisting of the immediately requisite 
supplies of the miners, and their tools, also reach the 
Canadian portion of the Yukon District from Juneau, in 
the United States, byway of the Taiya Inlet, the mountain 
passes, and the chain of waterways leading therefrom to 
Cudahy. Upon none of these importations had any duty 
been collected, except a sum of 13,248.80 paid to Inspector 
Constantine in 1894, by the North American Transj)orta- 
tion and Trading Company and others, and it is safe to 
conclude, especially when it is remembered that the coun- 
try produces none of the articles consumed within it ex- 
cept fresh meat, that a large revenue was being lost to 
the public exchequer under the then existing conditions. 

" For the purpose of ascertaining officially and author- 
itatively the condition of affairs to which the correspond- 



18 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

ence referred to in tlie next preceding paragraph relates, 
the Honorable the President of the Privy Council, dur- 
ing the spring of 1894, despatched Inspector Charles Con- 
stantine, of the Northwest Mounted Police Force, accom- 
panied by Sergeant Brown, to Fort Cudahy and the 
mining camps in its vicinity. The report made by Mr. 
Constantino on his return, established the substantial 
accuracy of the representations already referred to. The 
value of the total output of gold for the season of 1894 he 
estimated at 1300,000. 

" The facts recited clearly establish — first, that the time 
had arrived when it became the duty of the Government 
of Canada to make more efficient j^rovision for the main- 
tenance of order, the enforcement of the laws, and the 
administration of justice in the Yukon country, especially 
in that section of it in which placer mining for gold is be- 
ing prosecuted upon such an extensive scale, situated near 
to the boundary separating the NortliAvest Territories from 
the possessions of the United States in Alaska ; and, 
second, that while such measures as Avere necessary to that 
end were called for in the interests of humanity, and par- 
ticularly for the security and safety of the lives and property 
of the Canadian subjects of Her Majesty resident in that 
country who are engaged in legitimate business pursuits, 
it was evident that the revenue justly due to the Govern- 
ment of Canada, under its customs, excise and land laws, 
and which would go a long way to pay the expenses of 
government, w^as being lost for the want of adequate 
machinery for its collection. 

" Accordingly in June last a detachment * of twenty 
members of the Mounted Police Force including officers 

*The detachment was made uji as follows : — Inspector C. Con- 
stantine, Officer Commanding Yukon Detacliment N. W. M. 
Police ; Inspector, D. A. E, Strickland ; Assistant Surgeon, A. E. 
Wills ; 2 Staff Sergeants ; 3 Corporals ; 13 Constables. 



ELONBTKE FACTS. 19 

was detailed for service in that portion of the Northwest 
Territories. The officer in command, in addition to the 
magisterial and other duties he is required to perform hy 
virtue of his office and under instructions from the Depart- 
ment of Mounted Police, was duly authorized to represent 
where necessary, and until other arrangements can be 
made, all the departments of the government haviug in- 
terests in that region. Particularly he is authorized to 
perform the duties of Dominion lands agent, collector of 
customs, and collector of inland revenue. At the same 
time instructions were given Mr. William Ogilvie, the sur- 
veyor referred to as having, with Dr. Dawson, been en- 
trusted with the conduct of the first government exjiedi- 
tion to the Yukon, to proceed again to that district for the 
purpose of continuing and extending the work of deter- 
mining the 14:1st meridian, of laying out building lots and 
mining claims, and generally of performing such duties as 
may be entrusted to him from time to time. Mr. Ogilvie's 
qualifications as a surveyor, and his previous experience 
as explorer of this section of the Northwest, peculiarly fit 
him for the task. 

"As it appears quite certain, from the report made by 
Mr. Ogilvie on his return to Ottawa, in 1889, and from 
the report of iVIr. Constantino, that the operations of the 
miners are being conducted upon streams which have their 
sources in the United States Territory of Alaska, and flow 
into Canada on their way to Join the Yukon, and as doubt- 
less some of the placer diggings under development are 
situated on the United States side of the boundary it is 
highly desirable, both for the purpose of settling definitely 
to which country any land occupied for mining or other 
purposes actually belongs, and in order that the jurisdic- 
tion of the courts and officers of the United States and 
Canada, for both civil and criminal purposes, may be estab- 
lished, that the determination of the 141st meridian west 



20 KL OND YKE FA CTS. 

of Greenwich from the point of its intersection with the 
Yukon, as marked by Mr. Ogilvie in 1887-88, for a con- 
siderable distance south of the river, and possibly also for 
some distance to the north, should be proceeded with at 
once. Mr. Ogilvie's instructions require him to go on with 
the survey with all convenient speed, but in order that this 
work may be effective for the accomplishment of the object 
in view the co-operation of the Government of the United 
States is necessary. Correspondence is in progress through 
the proper authorities with a view to obtaining this co- 
operation. It may be mentioned that a United States 
surveyor has also determined the points at which the 
Yukon Eiver and Forty Mile Creek are intersected by the 
14st meridian." 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 21 



CHAPTER II. 

ROUTES, DISTANCES, AXD TRAXSPORTATIOX. 

After considerable experience I have decided tliat tlie 
best route for a man to take to the gold regions is from 
Seattle, "Washington, to Juneau, Alaska, and then to Daw- 
son City, by the pass and waterways, and I will therefore 
describe this route more in detail than any of the others. 

I am devoting a special chapter to the outfit for travellers, 
and will therefore deal in this chapter with the route only. 

The traveller having paid his fare to Seattle should 
on arrival there have not less than ^500. This is the 
minimum sum necessary to pay his fare from Seattle to 
Juneau, purchase his outfit and supplies for one year and 
pay his necessary expenses in the gold region for that length 
of time. 

I think it deplorable that so many are starting at this time 
for the gold-fields. I do not recommend starting before 
March 15. I will return at that time to ray claims on the 
Klondyke, if it Avere wise to go sooner, I should certainly 

go- 

The reason March 15 is best is that the season is better 

then. If a man has only, say, $500 and wants to do his 
own packing over the Taiya Pass, it gives him time to do it 
by starting March 15, as he will then be in Juneau April 
1st. I fear a great deal of hardship for those who started 
out so as to reach Juneau for winter travel. 

Of course while I say 1500 is sufficient to go to Daw- 
son City, a man should take $1,000 or even more if pes- 



22 KLONDTKE FACTS. 

sible as he will have many opportunities to invest the 
surplus. 

While prices will undoubtedly advance at Dawson City 
owing to the large influx of people, I do not think the ad- 
vance will be excessive. It has never been the policy of 
the two trading companies to take advantage of the miners. 

The traveller having arrived in Juneau from Seattle, a 
journey of 725 miles by water, immediately purchases his 
complete outfit as described in another chapter. He then 
loses no time in leaving Juneau for Dyea, taking a small 
steamboat which runs regularly to this port via the Lynn 
Canal. Dyea has recently been made a customs port of 
entry and the head of navigation this side of the Taiya 
Pass. The distance between Juneau and Dyea is about one 
hundred miles. 

From Dyea, which is the timber-line, he packs his outfit 
to the foot of the Taiya Pass — the length of which to the 
summit is about 15 miles. He must now carry his outfit 
up the Pass, which he generally does in two or more trips 
according to the weight of his outfit, unless he is able 
hire Indians or mules ; but so far there are very few to 
Indians to be hired and still fewer mules. 

He now starts for Lake Lindoman from the head of the 
Pass, a distance of eight miles — the distance from Dyea to 
Lake Lindeman being 31 miles. 

At Lake Lindeman he commences to make his boat, for 
which he has bronglit the proper supplies in his outfit, 
with the exception of the timber, which he finds at Lake 
Lindeman. Ho spends one Avcek at Lake Lindeman mak- 
ing his boat and getting ready for the long trip down the 
waterways to Dawson City, the heart of the Klondyke re- 
gion. The trip through Lake Lindeman is short, the 
lake being only five miles long. At the foot of the lake 
he must portage to Lake Bennet, the portage however be- 
ing very short, less than a mile. 
















\ 




^ 



THE ASCKNT OF TAITA PASS 



KLONBTKE FACTS. 23 

Lake Bennet is 28 miles long, while going tlirovigli this 
lake the traveller crosses the boundary between British 
Columbia and the Xorthwest Territory. 

After going down Lake Bennet the traveller comes to 
Caribou Crossing — about four miles long, which takes him 
to Lake Tagish, twenty miles in length. After leaving 
Tagisli he finds himself in Mud or Marsh Lake, 24 miles 
long, then into the Lynx River, on which he continues for 
27 miles till he comes to Miles Canyon, five-eighths of a 
mile long. 

Lnmediately on leaving Miles Canyon he has three miles 
of what is called bad river work, which, while not hazard- 
ous, is dangerous from the swift current aiul from being 
very rocky. Great care has to be taken in going down this 
part of the river. 

He uoAV finds himself in "White Horse Canyon the rapids 
of which are three-eighths of a mile in length and one of 
the most dangerous places oh the trip, a man is here 
guarded by a sign, "Keej) a good lookout." 

No stranger or novice should try to run the White Horse 
Rapids alone in a boat. He should let his boat drop down 
the river guided by a rope with which he has iirovided 
himself in his outfit and which should be 150 feet long. 
It would be better if the traveller should portage here, the 
miners having constructed a portage road on the Avest side 
and put down roller-ways in some places on which they 
roll their boats over. They have also made some wind- 
lasses with which they haul their boat up the hill till they 
are at the foot of the canyon. The White Horse Canyon 
is very rocky and dangerous aiul the current extremely 
swift. 

After leaving the White Horse Canyon he goes down the 
river to the head of Lake Labarge, a distance of 14 miles. 
He can sit down and steer with the current, as he is going 
down the stream all the way. It is for this reason that in 



24 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

returning from the diggings he should take another route, 
of wliich lie will get full particulars before leaving Dawson ; 
therefore I do not take the time to give a full description 
of the return trip via the Yukon to St. Michael. He now 
goes through Lake Labarge — for 31 miles — till he strikes 
the Lewes Eiver, this taking him down to Hootalinqua. 
He is now in the Lewes Eiver which takes him for 25 miles 
to Big Salmon Eiver and from Big Salmon Eiver 45 miles 
to Little Salmon Eiver — the current all this time taking 
him down at the rate of five miles an hour. Of course in 
the canyons it is very much swifter. 

The Little Salmon Eiver takes him to Five Finger 
Eapids, a distance of one hundred and twenty miles. In 
the Five Finger Eapids the voyage should be made on the 
right side of the river, going with the current. These 
rapids are considered safe by careful management, but the 
novice will already have had sufficient experience in guid- 
ing his boat before reaching them. 

From Five Finger Eapids the traveller goes six miles 
below, down the Lewes, to the Eink Eaj)ids. On going 
through the Eink Eapids, he continues on the Lewes Eiver 
to Fort Selkirk, the trading post of Harper and Ladue, 
where the Pelly and Lewes, at their junction, form the 
headwaters of the Yukon. You are now at the head of 
the Yukon Eiver, and the worst j^art of your trip is over. 

You now commence to go down the Yukon, and after a 
trip of ninety-eight miles, you are in the White Eiver. 
You keep on the White Eiver for ten miles, to the Stewart 
Eiver, and then twenty-five miles to Fort Ogilvie. Yon 
are now only forty miles from Dawson City. 

Your journey is now almost ended. After a forty-mile 
trip on the Yukon, you arrive at Dawson City, where the 
Klondyke empties in the Yukon. 

All through this trip you have been going through a 
mountainous country, the trees there being pine, a small 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 25 

amount of spruce, cottonwood and bircli. You have not 
seen much game, if any, as it is growing scarce along tliat 
line of river, and very hard to find. The traveller had 
therefore better make prej)aration to depend on the pro- 
visions he has brought with him. If he has stopped to 
fish, he may have been successful in catching whitefish, 
grayling and lake trout, along the lakes and rivers. 

The total Journey from Seattle to Dawson City luis taken 
about two months. In connection with this trip from 
Juneau to Dawson City, it is perhaps better to give the 
reader the benefit of the trip of ISlv. William Stewart, 
who Avrites from Lake Lindeman, May 31st, 1897, as fol- 
lows : — 

" We arrived here at the south end of the lake last night 
by boat. We have had an awful time of it. The Taiya 
Pass is not a pass at all, but a climb right over the moun- 
tains. We left Juneau on Thursday, the twentieth, on 
a little boat smaller than the ferry at Ottawa. There were 
over sixty aboard, all in one room about ten by fourteen. 
There was baggage piled up in one end so that the floor- 
space was only about eight by eight. We went aboard 
about three o'clock in the afternoon and went ashore at 
Dyea at seven o'clock Friday night. We got the Indians 
to pack all our stuff up to the summit, but about fifty 
pounds each ; I had forty-eight pounds and my gun. 

" We left Dyea, an Indian village, Sunday, but only got 
up the river one mile. We towed all the stuff up the 
river seven miles, and then packed it to Sheep Camp. 
We reached Sheep Camp about seven o'clock at night, 
on the Queen's Birthday. A beautiful time we had, I can 
tell you, climbing hills with fifty pounds on our backs. 
It would not be so bad if Ave could strap it on rightly. 

"AVe left Sheep Camp next morning at four o'clock, 
and reached the summit at half-past seven. It Avas an 
aAvful climb — an angle of about fifty-five degrees. AVe 



26 KLONBYKE FACTS. 

could kcci^ our lumds touching the trtiil all the way up. 
It was blowing and snowing up there. We paid off the 
Indians, and got some sleighs and sleighed the stuff down 
the hill. This hill goes down pretty swif t^, and then drops 
at an angle of fifty-five degrees for about forty feet, and 
we had to rough-lock our sleighs and let them go. There 
was an awful fog, and we could not see where we were 
going. Some fellows helped us down with the first load, 
or there would have been nothing left of us. When we 
lot a sleigh go from the top it jumps about fifty feet clear, 
and comes down in pieces. AVe loaded up the sleighs with 
some of our stuff, about tv.o hundred and twenty-five 
pounds each, and started across the lakes. The trail was 
awful, and we v/aded through water and slush two and 
three feet deep. We got to the mouth of the canyon at 
about eight o'clock at night, done out. We left there that 
night, and pushed on again until morning. We got to 
the bottom of an av.-ful hill, and packed all our stuff from 
tliere to the hill above the lake. We had about two and 
a half miles over hills, in snow and slusli. I carried about 
five hundred 2)ounds over that part of the trail. We had 
to get dogs to bring the stuff down from the summit to 
the head of the canyon. 

We worked two days bringing the stuff over from the 
canyon to the hill above the lake. Saturday we worked all 
day packing down the hill to the lake, and came here on 
a scow. We were out yesterday morning cutting down 
trees to build a boat. The timber is small, and I don't 
think we can get more than four-inch stuff. It rained all 
afternoon, and we couldn't do anything. There are about 
fifty boats of all sorts on Lake Bennet, which is about half 
a mile from here. I have long rubber boots up to the hips, 
and I did not have them on coming from the summit down, 
but I have worn them ever since. 

We met Barwell and Lewis, of Ottawa, to-day. They 



ELONDYKE FACTS. 27 

were out looking for knees for their boats. They left 
Ottawa six weeks ago, and have not got any farther than 
we have. There was a little saw-mill going here, and they 
have their lumber sawn. We have it that warm some days 
here that you would fairly roast, and the next day you 
would be looking for your overcoat. Everybody here 
seems to be taking in enough food to do them a couple of 
years. 

AVe are now in Canadian territory, after we passed the 
summit. I will have to catch somebody going through to 
Dyea to give him this letter, but I don't know how long 
before I can get any one going through. This is the last 
you will hear from me until I get down to the Klon- 
dyke." 

Mr. Stewart adds : '' I wrote this in the tent at 11 o'clock 
at night during twilight." 

If you take this trip in winter, however, you have to pur- 
chase a sled at Juneau, and sled it over the frozen water- 
ways to Dawson City. 

For the benefit of my readers in Canada and for parties 
leaving for the great Xorthwest Territory for the gold fields, 
I take pleasure in quoting the following description of a 
Canadian route : — 

" Canadians should awaken to the fact that they have 
emphatically ' the inside track ' to their own gold fields, 
a route not half the distance, largely covered by railways 
and steamboats, with supply stations at convenient inter- 
vals all the way. By this route the gold-fields can be 
reached in two months or six Aveeks, and the cost of travel 
is ridiculously cheap — nearly anybody can afford to go even 
now, and by the spring it should be fitted out for the ac- 
commodation of any amount of traffic. 

The details of the information in the following article 
are given by Mr. A. H. H. Heming, the artist who ac- 



28 KLONDYEE FACTS. 

companied Mr. Whitney in his journey towards the Barren 
Lands, and the data may be accepted as correct;, as they 
were secured from the Hudson Bay officials. 

The details of the inland Canadian route, briefly, are as 
follows : By C. P. R. to Calgary, and thence north by 
rail to Edmonton ; from there by stage to Athabasca Land- 
ing, 40 miles ; then, there is a continuous waterway for 
canoe travel to Fort Macpherson, at the mouth of the 
Mackenzie Eiver, from which point the Peel River lies 
southward to the gold region. The exact figures are as 
follows : 

MILES. 

Edmonton to Athabasca Landing 40 

To Fort McMurray 240 

Fort Chippew3^an 185 

Smith Landing 102 

Fort Smith 16 

Fort Resolution 194 

Fort Providence 1G8 

Fort Simpson 101 

Fort Wrigley 130 

Fort Norman 184 

Fort Good Hope 174 

Fort Macpherson 282 

Total.... 1882 

There are only two jiortages on this route of any size — 
that from Edmonton to Athabasca Landing, over which 
there is a stage and wagon line, and at Smith Landing, six- 
teen miles, over which the Hudson Bay Company has a tram- 
way. There are four or live other portages of a few hun- 
dred yards, but Avith these exceptions there is a fine '* down 
grade" water route all the way. It is the old Ihidson 
Bay trunk line to the north that has been in use for nearly 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 29 

a century. AVlierever thei'e is a lake or a long stretch of 
deep water river navigation the company has small freight 
steamers which ply back and forward during the summer 
between the portage points or shallows. With compara- 
tively little expenditure the company or the Government 
can improve the facilities along the line so that any amount 
of freight or any number of passengers can be taken into 
the gold region at less than half the time and cost that it 
takes Americans to reach it from Port St. Michael, at the 
mouth of the Yukon to the Klondyke, exclusive of the 
steamer trip of 2500 miles from Seattle to Port St. 
Michael. 

Canadians can leave here on a Monday at 11.15 A.M., 
and reach Edmonton on Friday at 7 p.m. From that 
point, a party of three men with a canoe, should reach Fort 
Macpherson easily in from 50 to GO days, provided they 
are able-bodied young fellows Avith experience in that sort 
of travel. They will need to take canoes from here, unless 
they propose to hire Indians with large birch bark canoes 
to carry them. Birch bark canoes can be secured of any 
size up to the big ones manned by ten Indians that carry 
three tons. But birch barks are not reliable unless Indians 
are taken along to doctor them, and keep them from get- 
ting water-logged. The Hudson Bay Company will also 
contract to take freight northward on their steamers until 
tlie close of navigation. Travellers to the gold mines 
leaving now would probably reach Fort Macpherson before 
navigation closed. 

The letter from Eev. Mr. Stringer, the missionary, pub- 
lished in the Spectator on July 2, shows that the ice had 
only commenced to run in the Peel Eiver, which is the 
Avater route south-east from Fort Macpherson into the gold 
region, on September 30 last year. 

Any Canadians who are anxious to get into the Klon- 
dyke ahead of the Americans can leave between now and 



30 KLONBTKE FACTS. 

August 1, reach Fort Macpherson, and if winter comes on 
they can exchange their canoes for dog trains, and reach 
tlie Klondyke without half the difficulty that would be 
experienced on the Alaska route. The great advantage of 
the inland route is that it is an organized line of communi- 
cation. Travellers need not carry any more food than 
will take them from one Hudson Bay post to the next, and 
then there is abundance of fish and wild fowl en route. 
They can also be in touch with such civilization as prevails 
up there, can always get assistance at the posts, and will 
have some place to stay should they fall sick or meet with 
an accident. If they are lucky enough to make their pile 
in the Klondyke, they can come back by tlie dog sled 
route during the winter. (There is one winter mail to 
Fort Macpherson in winter.) Dogs for teams can be pur- 
chased at nearly any of the line of Hudson Bay posts that 
form a chain of road-houses on the trip. 

Parties travelling alone will not need to employ guides 
until they get near Fort Macpherson, and from there on 
to the Klondyke, as the rest of the route from Edmonton 
is so well defined, having been travelled for years, that no 
guides are required. 

You don't need a coujdIc of thousand dollars to start for 
Klondyke to-morrow by the Edmonton route. All you 
need is a good constitution, some experience in boating 
and camping, and about 1150. Suppose a party of three 
decide to start. First they will need to purchase a canoe, 
about 135 or less ; first-class ticket from Hamilton to Ed- 
monton, $71.40 ; second class, ditto, $40.90 ; cost of food 
at Edmonton for three men for two months (should consist 
of pork, flour, tea and baking-powder), $35 ; freight on 
canoe to Edmonton, $23. Total for three men from Ham- 
ilton to Fort Macpherson, provided they travel second- 
class on the C. P. E. will be $318.70. These figures are 
furnished by Mr. Heming, who has been over the route 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 31 

400 miles north of Edmonton, and got the rest of his data 
from the Hudson Bay officials. 

If three men chip in 1150 each they Avould have a mar- 
gin of over 1300 for purchasing their tools and for trans- 
port from Fort Macpherson to the Klondyke. This is how 
it may be done on the cheap, though Mr. Heming con- 
siders it ample for any party starting this summer. Prices 
will likely rise on the route when the rush begins. If the 
Hudson Bay peoj^le are alive to their interests they will 
forward a large amount of supplies for Fort Macpherson 
immediately and make it the base of su^iplies for the Klon- 
dyke during the coming winter. 

Parties should consist of three men each, as that is the 
crew of a canoe. It will take GOO pounds of food to carry 
three men over the route. Passengers on the C. P. E, 
are entitled to carry 600 pounds of baggage. The paddling 
is all down stream, except when they turn south up Peel 
River, and sails should be taken, as there is often a favor- 
able wind for days. 

There are large scows on the line, manned by ten men 
each and known as ' sturgeon heads.'' They are like 
canal boats, but are punted along and are used by the 
Hudson Bay people for taking forward supplies to the 
forts. 

The return trip to the United States is usually made 
by the Yukon steamers from Dawson City direct to St. 
Michael via the Yukon and Anvik River, thence by ocean 
steamer from St. Michael to San Francisco.^' 

The following letter is interesting to the jirospector as 
showing the difficulties to overcome uji the Taiya Pass to 
Lake Lindeman. 

Winnipeg, July 27, 1897. 
A letter has been received from George McLeod, one of 
the members of the Winnipeg party of gold hunters that 



32 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

left here recently for the Yukon. He wrote from Lake 
Lindeman under date of July 4, and states that the party 
expected to leave on the journey from the river a week 
later. They had a fine boat, with a freight capacity of 
two tons about completed. The real work of the expedi- 
tion started when the small steamer which conveyed the 
party from Juneau arrived at Dyea. The men had to 
transfer their goods to a lighter one mile from shore, each 
man looking after his own joackages. After getting every- 
thing ashore the party was organized for ascent of the 
mountain pass, which at the hardest point is 3,000 feet 
above sea level. McLeod and his chum, to save time and 
money too, engaged 35 Indians to pack their supplies 
over the mountains, but they had to carry their own bed- 
ding and grub to keep them on the road. It is fifteen 
miles to the summit of the pass and the jaarty made twelve 
miles the first day, going into camp at night tired from 
climbing over rocks, stumps, logs and hills, working 
through rivers and creeks and pushing their way through 
brush. At the end of twelve miles they thought they had 
gone fifty. On the second day out they began to scale the 
summit of the mountain. Hill after hill confronted them, 
each one being steeper than the last. There was snow on 
the top of the mountain, and rain was falling, and this added 
greatly to the difficulties of the ascent. In many places 
the men had to crawl on their hands and knees, so pre- 
cipitous was the mountain side. Time after time the rnen 
Avould slij) back several inches, but they recovered them- 
selves and went at it again. 

Finally, the summit was gained, McLeod being the first 
of the party to reach the top. After resting and chang- 
ing their clothes the descent was commenced. j\IcLeod 
and his chums purchased sleighs, on which they loaded 
their goods and hauled for five miles. This was extremely 
laborious work, and the men were so used up working in 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 33 

the scorching sun that tliey were compelled to work at 
nights and sleep during the day. Two days after the de- 
scent hegan the sleiglis were abandoned, and the men 
packed the goods for three miles and a half. They were 
fortunate in securing the services of a man who had two 
horses to convey the goods to Lake Lindeman. 

McLeod says the worry in getting over the pass is terri- 
ble, and he has no desire to repeat the experience. He 
advises all who go in to have their goods packed all the 
way from Dyea to Lake Lindeman. It costs 17 or 18 
cents per pound for packing. 

j\IcLeod expected that Klondyke would not be reached 
before July 25. 

I think it specially valuable for the reader to give him 
the approximate distances to Fort Cudahy, Avhich is below 
Dawson City via the various routes. 

This table of distances has been prepared by Mr. James 
Ogilvie, and I also give a number of his notes which will 
be of great value to the traveller when making tlie trip 
from Juneau to Dawson City. 

APPROXIMATE DISTANCES TO FORT CUDAHY. 

VIA ST, MICHAEL. 

Miles. 
San Francisco to Dutch Harbor 2,400 

Seattle or Victoria to Dutch Harbor 3.000 

Dutch Harbor to St. Michael 750 

St. Michael to Cudahy 1,600 

VIA TAIYA PASS. 

Victoria to Taiya 1,000 

Taiya to Cudaliy 650 

VIA STIKIXE RIVER. 

Victoria to "Wrangell 750 

Wrangell to Telegraph Creek 150 

Telegraph Creek to Teslin Lake 150 

Teslin Lake to Cudahv 650 

3 



g4 KL ON DYKE FACTS. 

DISTANCES FROM HEAD OF TAIYA INLET. 

Miles. 

Head of canoe navigation, Taiya River 5-90 

Forks of Taiya River 8-38 

Summit of Taiya Pass 14-76 

Landing at Lake Lindeman 23-06 

Foot of Lake Lindeman 37-49 

Head of Lake Bennet 28-09 

Boundary line B. C. and N. W. T. (Lat 60°) 38-09 

Foot of Lake Bennet 53-85 

Foot of Caribou Crossing (Lake Nares) 56*44 

Foot of Tagish Lake 73-25 

Head of Marsli Lake 78-15 

Foot of Marsh Lake 97-21 

Head of Miles Canon 122-94 

Foot of Miles Canon 123-56 

Head of White Horse Rapids 124-95 

Foot of White Horse Rapids 125-33 

Tahkeena River 139-92 

Head of Lake Labarge 15307 

Foot of Lake Labarge 184-22 

Teslintoo River 215-88 

Big Salmon River 24933 

Little Salmon River 285-54 

Five Finger Rapids 344 83 

Pelly River 403.29 

White River 499-11 

Stewart River 508-91 

Sixty-Mile Creek 530-41 

Dawson City — The Principal Mining Town 575-70 

Fort Reliance 582-20 

Forty-Mile River 627-08 

Boundary Line 667-43 

" Another route is now being explored between Telegraph 
Creek and Teslin Lake and will soon be opened. Telegraph 
Creek is the head of steamer navigation on the Stikine 

River and is about 150 miles from Teslin Lake. The 
Yukon is navigable for steamers from its mouth to Teslin 
Lake, a distance of 2,300 miles. A road is being located 



KLONbYKE FACTS. 36 

by the Dominion Government. A grant of $2,000 has 
been made by the province of British Columbia for open- 
ing it. 

'^ J. Dalton^ a trader, lias used a route overland from 
Chilkat Inlet to Fort Selkirk. Going up the Chilkat and 
Klaheela Rivers, he crosses the divide to the Tahkeena 
River and continues northward over a fairly open country 
practicable for horses. The distance from the sea to Fort 
Selkirk is 350 miles. 

'^ Last summer a Juneau butcher sent 40 head of cattle to 
Cudaliy. G. Bounds, the man in charge, crossed the di- 
vide over the Chilkat Pass, followed the shore of Lake Ar- 
kell and, keeping to the east of Dalton's trail, reached the 
Yukon just belo^v the Rink Rapids. Here the cattle were 
slaughtered and the meat floated down on a raft to Cudahy, 
where it retailed at II a pound. 

" It is proposed to establish a winter road somewhere across 
the country travelled over by Dalton and Bounds. The 
Yukon cannot be followed, the ice being too much broken, 
so that any winter road will have to be overland. A 
thorough exploration is now being made of all the passes 
at the head of X/ynn Canal and of the upper waters of the 
Yukon. In a few months it is expected that the best routes 
for reaching the district from Lynn Canal will be definitely 
known. 

*' It is said by those familiar with the locality that the 
storms which rage in the upper altitudes of the coast range 
during the greater part of the time, from October to March, 
are terrific. A man caught in one of them runs the risk 
of losing his life, unless he can reach shelter in a short 
time. During the summer there is nearly always a wind 
blowing from the sea up Chatham Strait and Lynn Canal, 
which lie in almost a straight line with each other, and 
at the head of Lynn Canal are Chilkat and Chilkoot Inlets. 
The distance from the coast down these channels to the 



36 kLonjdyke facTB. 

open sea is about 380 miles. The mountains on each side 
of the water confine the currents of air, and deflect inclined 
currents in the direction of the axis of the channel, so 
that tliere is nearly always a strong wind blowing up the 
channel. Coming from the sea, this wind is heavily 
charged with moisture, which is precipitated when the air 
currents strike the mountains, and the fall of rain and snow 
is consequently very heavy. 

" In Chilkat Inlet there is not much shelter from the 
south wind, which renders it unsafe for ships calling 
there. Capt. Hunter told me he would rather visit any 
other part of the coast than Chilkat. 

"To carry the survey from the island across to Chilkoot 
Inlet I had to get up on the mountains north of Haines 
mission, and from there could see both inlets. Owing to 
the bad weather I could get no observation for azimuth, 
and had to produce the survey from Pyramid Island to 
Taiya Inlet by reading the angles of deflection between the 
courses. At Taiya Inlet I got my first observation, and 
deduced the azimuths of my courses up to that point. 
Taiya Inlet has evidently been the valley of a glacier ; its 
sides are steep and smooth from glacial action ; and this, 
with the wind almost constantly blowing landward, renders 
getting upon the shore difficult. Some long sights were 
therefore necessary. The survey was made up to the head 
of the Inlet on the 2d of June. Preparations were then 
commenced for taking the supplies and instruments over 
the coast range of mountains to the head of Lake Linde- 
man on the Lewes River. Commander Newell kindly 
aided me in making arrangements with the Indians, and 
did all he could to induce them to be reasonable in their 
demands. This, however, neither he nor any one else 
could accomplish. They refused to carry to the lake for 
less than $20 per hundred pounds, and as they had learned 
that the expedition was an English one, the second chief 




TUB BOLNDAUY LINE BErWtEN AEASKA AND NOKTIIWEST TEURIToKIES 
SHOWING OVERLAND TRIP TO DAWSON CITY FnOJI LAKE BKNNET 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 37 

of the Chilkoot ludians recalled some memories of an old 
quarrel which the tribe had with the English many years 
ago, in which an uncle of his was killed, and he thought 
we should pay for the loss of his uncle by being charged an 
exorbitant price for our packing, of which he had the sole 
control. Commander Newell told him I had a permit from 
the Great Fatber at Washington to pass through his coun- 
try safely, that he would see that I did so, and if the In- 
dians interfered with me they would be punished for doing 
so. After much talk they consented to carry our stuff to 
the summit of tlie mountain for $10 per hundred pounds. 
This is about two-thirds of the whole distance, includes 
all the climbing and all the Avoods, and is by far the most 
difficult part of the way. 

" On the Gth of June 120 Indians, men, women and chil- 
dren, started for the summit. I sent two of my party with 
them to see the goods delivered at the place agreed upon. 
Each carrier when given a pack also got a ticket, on which 
was inscribed the contents of the pack, its weight, and the 
amount the individual was to get for carrying it. They 
were made to understand that they had to produce these 
tickets on delivering their packs, but were not told for 
what reason. As each pack was delivered one of my men 
receipted the ticket and returned it. The Indians did not 
seem to understand the import of this ; a fcAV of them pre- 
tended to have lost their tickets ; and as they could not 
get paid Avithout them, my assistant, who had duplicates 
of every ticket, furnished them Avith receipted copies, 
after examining their packs. 

" "While they Avere packing to the summit I was producing 
the survey, and I met them on their return at the foot of 
the canon, about eight miles from the coast, Avhere I paid 
them. They came to the camp in the early morning before 
I Avas up, and for about tAvo hours there was quite a hub- 
bub. "When paying them I tried to get their names, but 



38 KLONBYEE FACTS. 

very few of them would give any Indian name, nearly all, 
after a little reflection, giving some common English name. 
My list contained little else than Jack, Tom, Joe, Charlie, 
&c. some of which were duplicated three and four times. 
I then found why some of them had pretended to lose 
their tickets at the summit. Three or four who had thus 
acted presented themselves twice for payment, producing 
first the receipted ticket, afterwards the one they claimed 
to have lost, demanding pay for both. They were much 
taken aback when they found that their duplicity had 
been discovered. 

" These Indians are perfectly heartless. They will not 
render even the smallest aid to each other without j)ay- 
ment ; and if not to each other, much less to a white man. 
I got one of them, whom I had previously assisted with 
his pack, to take me and two of my party over a small 
creek in his canoe. After putting us across lie asked for 
money, and I gave him half a dollar. Another man 
stepped up and demanded pay, stating that the canoe was 
his. To see what the result would be, I gave to him the 
same amount as to the first. Immediately there were three 
or four more claimants for the canoe. I dismissed them 
with a blessing, and made up my mind that I would wade 
the next creek. 

'' While paying them I was a little apprehensive of trouble, 
for they insisted on crowding into my tent, and for m}-- 
self and the four men who were Avith me to have attempted 
to eject them would have been to invite trouble. I am 
strongly of the opinion that these Indians would have been 
much more difficult to deal with if they had not known 
that Commander Newell remained in the inlet to see that 
I got through without accident. 

" While making the survey from the head of tide water I 
took the azimuths and altitudes of several of the highest 
peaks around the head of the inlet, in order to locate 



KLONBYKE FACTS. 39 

them, and obtain an idea of the general height of the 
peaks in the coast range. As it does not appear to have 
been done before, I have taken the opportunity of naming 
all the peaks, the positions of Avhich I fixed in the above 
way. The names and altitudes appear on my map. 

*' While going up from the head of canoe navigation on 
the Taiya River I took the angles of elevation of each 
station from the preceding one. I would have done this 
from tide water up, but found many of the courses so short 
and with so little increase in height that with the instru- 
ment I had it Avas inappreciable. From these angles I 
have computed the height of the summit of the Taiya 
Pass,* above the head of canoe navigation, as it appeared 
to me in June, 1887, and find it to be 3,378 feet. What 
depth of snow there was I cannot say. The head of canoe 
navigation I estimate at about 120 feet above tide water. 
Dr. Dawson gives it as 124 feet. 

''I determined the descent from the summit to Lake 
Lindeman by carrying the aneroid from the lake to the 
summit and back again, the interval of time from start to 
return being about eight hours. Taking the mean of the 
readings at the lake, start and return, and the single read- 
ing at the summit, the height of the summit above the lake 
was found to be 1,237 feet. While making the survey 
from the summit down to the lake I took the angles of de- 
pression of each station from the preceding one, and from 
these angles I deduced the difference of height, which I 
found to be 1,354 feet, or 117 feet more than that found 

* The distance from the head of Taiya Inlet to the summit of 
the pass is 15 miles, and the whole length of tlie pass to Lake 
Lindeman is 23 niiles. Messrs. Healy and Wilson, dealers in 
general merchandise and miners' supplies at Taiya, have a train 
of pack horses carrying freight from the head of Lynn Canal to 
the summit. They hope to be able to take freight through to 
Lake Lindeman with their horses during the present season. 



40 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

by the aneroid. This is quite a large difference ; but 
when we consider the altitude of the place, the sudden 
changes of temperature, and the atmospheric conditions^ 
it is not more than one might expect. 

" "While at Juneau I heard reports of a low pass from the 
head of Chilkoot Inlet to the head waters of Lewes Eiver. 
During the time I was at the head of Taiya Inlet I made 
inquiries regarding it, and found that there was such a 
pass, but could learn nothing definite about it from either 
whites or Indians. As Capt. Moore, who accompanied 
me, was very anxious to go through it, and as the reports 
of the Taiya Pass indicated that no wagon road or railroad 
could ever be built through it, while the new pass appeared, 
from what little knowledge I could get of it, to be much 
lower and possibly feasible for a wagon road, I determined 
to send the captain by that Avay, if I could get an Indian 
to accompany him. This, I found, would be difficult to 
do. None of the Chilkoots ap^jeared to knoAV anything of 
the pass, and I concluded that they wished to keep its 
existence and condition a secret. The Tagish, or Stick 
Indians, as the interior Indians are locally called, are afraid 
to do anything in opposition to the wishes of the Chilkoots ; 
so it was difficult to get any of them to join Capt. Moore ; 
but after much talk and encouragement from the whites 
around, one of them named "Jim" was induced to go. 
He had been through this pass before, and proved reliable 
and useful. The information obtained from Capt. Moore's 
exploration I have incorporated in my plan of the survey 
from Taiya Inlet, but it is not as complete as I would 
have liked. I have named this pass '' White Pass," in 
honor of the late Hon. Thos. White, Minister of the 
Interior, under whose authority the expedition Avas organ- 
ized. Commencing at Taiya Inlet, about two miles south 
of its north end, it follows up the valley of the Shkagway 
River to its source, and thence down the valley of another 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 41 

river which Capt. Moore reijortecl to empty into the Takone 
or Wiudy Arm of Bove Lake (Schwatka). Dr. Dawson 
says this stream empties into Taku Arm, and in that 
event Capt. Moore is mistaken. Capt. Moore did not go 
all the way through to the lake, but assumed from reports 
he heard from tlie miners and others that the stream flowed 
into Windy iVrm, and this also was the idea of the Indian 
'^Jim" from Avhat I could gather from his remarks in 
broken English and Chinook. Capt. Moore estimates the 
distance from tide water to the summit at about 18 miles, 
and from the summit to the lake at about 22 to 23 miles. 
He reports the pass as thickly timbered all the way through. 

" The timber line on the south side of the Taiya Pass, as 
determined by barometer reading, is about 2,300 feet 
above the sea, while on the north side it is about 1,000 feet 
below the summit. This large difference is due, I think, 
to the different conditions in the two places. On the 
south side the valley is narrow and deep, and the sun can- 
not produce its full effect. The snow also is much deeper 
there, owing to the quantity Avhich drifts in from the sur- 
rounding mountains. On the north side the surface is 
sloping, and more exposed to the sun's rays. On the south 
side the timber is of the class peculiar to the coast, and 
on the north that joeculiar to the interior. The latter 
Avould grow at a greater altitude than the coast timber. 
It is possible that the summit of "White Pass is not higher 
than the timber line on the north of the Taiya Pass, 
or about 2,500 feet above tide water, and it is possibly 
even lower than this, as the timber in a valley such as the 
White Pass would hardly live at the same altitude as on 
the open slope on the north side. 

" Capt. Moore has had considerable experience in building 
roads in mountainous countries. He considers that this 
would be an easy route for a wagon road compared with 
some roads he has seen in British Columbia. Assuminff 



42 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

liis distances to be correct, and the height of the pass to be 
probably about correctly indicated, the grades would not 
be very steep, and a railroad could easily be carried through 
if necessary. 

''After completing the survey down to the lake, I set 
about getting my baggage down too. Of all the Indians 
who came to the summit with packs, only four or five could 
be induced to remain and pack down to the lake, although 
I was paying them at the rate of 14 per hundred pounds. 
After one trip down only two men remained, and they only 
in hopes of stealing something. One of them appropriated 
a pair of boots, and was much surprised to find that he 
had to pay for them on being settled with. I could not 
blame them much for not caring to work, as the weather 
was very disagreeable — it rained or snowed almost continu- 
ously. After the Indians left I tried to get down the stuff 
with the aid of my own men, but it was slavish and un- 
healthy labor, and after the first trip one of them was 
laid up with what appeared to be inflammatory rheumatism. 
The first time the party crossed, the sun was sliining 
brightly, and this brought on snow blindness, the pain of 
which only those who have suffered from this complaint 
can realize. I had two sleds with me which were made in 
Juneau specially for the work of getting over the mount- 
ains and down the lakes on the ice. AVitli these I suc- 
ceeded in bringing about a ton and a-half to the lakes, but 
found that the time it would take to get all down in this 
way would seriously interfere with the programme arranged 
with Dr. Dawson, to say nothing of the suffering of the 
men and myself, and the liability to sickness which pro- 
tracted physical exertion under such uncomfortable con- 
ditions and continued suffering from snow blindness ex- 
pose us to. I had with me a white man who lived at the 
head of the inlet with a Tagish Indian woman. This man 
had a good deal of influence with the Tagish tribe, of 



EL Oyi) YKE FA CTS. 43 

whom the greater number were then in the neighborhood 
Avhere he resided, trj'ing to get some odd jobs of work, 
iind I sent liim to the head of the inlet to try and induce 
tlie Tagish Indians to undertake the transj)ortation, offer- 
ing them So per hundred pounds. In the meantime Capt. 
Moore and the Indian ''Jim" had rejoined me. I had 
their assistance for a day or two, and "Jim's" presence 
aided indirectly in inducing the Indians to come to my 
relief. 

" The Tagish are little more than slaves to the more power- 
ful coast tribes, and are in constant dread of offending 
them in any way. One of the j)rivileges Avhicli the coast 
tribes claim is the exclusive right to all Avork on the coast 
or in its vicinity, and the Tagish are afraid to dis2)ute this 
claim. When my Avhite man asked the Tagish to come 
over and pack they objected on the grounds mentioned. 
After considerable ridicule of their cowardice, and explana- 
tion of the fact that they had the exclusive right to all 
work in their own country, the country on the side of the 
north side of the coast range being admitted by the coast 
Indians to belong to the Tagish tribe just as the coast 
tribes had the privilege of doing all the work on the 
coast side of the mountains, and that one of their num- 
ber was already working with me unmolested, and likely 
to continue so, nine of them came over, and in fear 
and trembling began to pack down to the lake. After 
they were at work for a few days some of the Chilkoots 
came out and also started to work. Soon I had quite a 
number at work and was getting my stuff down quite fast. 
But this good fortune Avas not .to continue. Owing to the 
prevailing wet, cold Aveather on the mountains, and the 
ditticulty of getting through the soft AvetsnoAv, the Indians 
soon began to quit Avork for a day or two at a time, and to 
gamble Avith one another for the Avages already earned. 
Many of them Avanted to be paid in full, but this I posi- 



4-1 KLONBYKE FACTS. 

tively refused, knowing that to do so was to have them all 
apjjly for their earnings and leave me until necessity com- 
pelled them to go to work again. I once for all made them 
distinctly understand that I would not pay any of them 
until the whole of the stuff was down. As many of them 
had already earned from twelve to fifteen dollars each, to 
lose which Avas a serious matter to them, they reluctantly 
resumed work and kept at it until all was delivered. This 
done, I paid them off, and set about getting my outfit across 
the lake, which I did with my own party and the two 
Peterborough canoes which I had with me. 

" These two canoes travelled about 3,000 miles by rail and 
about 1,000 miles by steamship before being brought into 
service. They did considerable work on Chilkoot and 
Tagish Inlets, and were then packed over to the head of 
Lewes River (Lake Lindeman), from where they were used 
in making the survey of Lewes and Yukon Rivers. In this 
work they made about 650 landings. They were then 
transported on sleighs from the boundary on the Yukon to 
navigable water on the Porcupine. 

*'In the spring of 1888 they descended the hitter river, 
heavily loaded, and through much rough water, to the 
mouth of BelFs River, and up it to McDougall's Pass. 
They were then carried over the pass to Pophir River and 
were used in going down the latter to Peel River, and thence 
up Mackenzie River 1,400 miles ; or, exclusive of railway 
and ship carriage, they were carried about 170 miles and 
did about 2,500 miles of work for the expedition, making 
in all about 1,700 landings in no easy manner and going 
through some very bad water. I left them at Fort Chipe- 
wyan in fairly good condition, and, with a little j^aint- 
ing, they would go through the same ordeal again. 

After getting all my outfit over to the foot of Lake Linde- 
man I set some of the party to pack it to the head of Lake 
Bennet. 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 45 

" I employed the rest of the party in looking for timber 
to build n boat to carry my outfit of j)rovisions and imple- 
ments down the river to the vicinity of the international 
boundary, a distance of about 700 miles. It took several 
days to find a tree large enough to make j)lank for the 
boat I wanted, as the timber around the upper end of the 
lake is small and scrubby. My boat was finished on the 
evejiing of the 11th of July, and on the 12th I started a 
portion of the party to load it and go ahead with it and 
the outfit to the canon. They had instructions to examine 
the cafion and, if necessary, to carry a part of the outfit 
past it — in any case, enough to support the party back to 
the coast should accident necessitate such procedure. With 
the rest of the party I started to carry on the survey, which 
may now be said to have fairly started ahead on the lakes. 
This proved tedious work, on account of the stormy 
weather. 

" In the summer months there is nearly always a wind 
blowing in from the coast ; it blows down the lakes and 
produces quite a heavy swell. This would not prevent the 
canoes going with the decks on, but, as we had to land every 
mile or so, the rollers breaking on the generally flat beach 
proved very troublesome. On this account I found I 
could not average more than ten miles per day on the 
lakes, little more than half of what could be done on the 
river. 

" The survey was completed to the canon on the 20th of 
July. There I found the party with the large boat had 
arrived on the 18th, having carried a j)art of the supplies 
past the canon, and were awaiting my arrival to run through 
it with the rest in the boat. Before doing so, however, I 
made an examination of the cafion. The rapids below it, 
particularly the last rapid of the series (called the White 
Horse by the miners), I found would not be safe to run. 
I sent two men through the cafion in one of the canoes to 



46 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

await the arrival of the boat, and to be ready in case of an 
accident to pick us up. Every man in the party was sup- 
plied with a life-preserver, so that should a casualty occur 
we Avould all have floated. Those in the canoe got through 
all right ; but they would not have liked to rej)eat the 
trip. They said the canoe jumped about a great deal more 
than they thought it would, and I had the same experience 
when going through in the boat. 

" The passage through is made in about three minutes, or 
at the rate of about 12|^ miles an hour. If the boat is kept 
clear of the sides there is not much danger in high water ; 
but in low water there is a rock in the middle of the channel, 
near the upper end of the canon, that renders the passage 
more difficult. I did not see this rock myself, but got my 
information from some miners I met in the interior, who 
described it as being about 150 yards down from the head 
and a little to the west of the middle of the channel. In 
low water it barely projects above the surface. When I 
passed through there was no indication of it, either from 
the bank above or from the boat. 

" The distance from the head to the foot of the canon is 
five-eighths of a mile. There is a basin about midway in it 
about 150 yards in diameter. This basin is circular in 
form, with steep sloping sides about 100 feet high. The 
lower jDart of the canon is much rougher to run through 
than the upper part, the fall being apparently much 
greater. The sides are generally perpendicular, about 80 
to 100 feet high, and consist of basalt, in some places 
showing hexagonal columns. 

" The White Horse Rapids are about three-eighths of a 
mile long. They are the most dangerous rapids on the 
river, and are never run through in boats except by ac- 
cident. They are confined by low basaltic banks, which, 
at the foot, suddenly close in and make the channel about 
30 yards wide. It is here the danger lies, as there is a 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 47 

sudden drop and the water rushes through at a tremen- 
dous rate, leaping and seething like a cataract. The 
miners have constructed a portage road on the west side, 
and put down rollways in some places on whicli to shove 
their boats over. They have also made some windlasses 
with which to haul their boats up hill, notably one at the 
foot of the canon. This roadway and windlasses must have 
cost them many hours of hard labor. Should it ever be 
necessary, a tramway could be built past the canon on tlie 
east side with no great difficulty. With the exception 
of the Five Finger Eapids these appear to be the only 
serious rapids on the whole length of the river. 

" Five Finger Kapidsare formed by several islands stand- 
ing in the channel and backing up the Avater so much as 
to raise it about a foot, causing a swell below for a few 
yards. The islands are composed of conglomerate rock, 
similar to the cliffs on each side of the river, whence one 
would infer that there has been a fall here in past ages. 
For about two miles below the rapids there is a pretty swift 
current, but not enough to prevent the ascent of a steam- 
boat of moderate power, and the rapids themselves I do 
not think would present any serious obstacle to the ascent 
of a good boat. In very high water warping miglit bo re- 
quired. Six miles below these rapids are what are known 
as ' Rink Eapids.' This is simply a barrier of rocks, which 
extends from the westerly side of the river about half way 
across. Over this barrier there is a ripple which would 
offer no great obstacle to the descent of a good canoe. On 
the easterly sides there is no ripple, and the current is 
smooth and the water apparently deep. I tried with a 6 
foot paddle, but could not reach the bottom. 

" On the 11th of August I met a party of miners coming 
out who had passed Stewart River a few days before. 
They saw no sign of Dr. Dawson having been there. This 
was welcome news for me, as I expected he would have 



48 KLONDYEE FACTS. 

reached that point long before I arrived, on account of the 
many delays I had met with on the coast range. These 
miners also gave me the pleasant news that the story told 
at the coast about the fight with the Indians at Stewart 
River was false, and stated substantially what I have 
already repeated concerning it. The same evening I met 
more miners on their way out, and the next day met three 
boats, each containing four men. In the crew of one of them 
was a son of Capt. Moore, from whom the captain got such 
information as induced him to turn back and accompany 
them out. 

'' Next day, the 13th, I got to the mouth of the Pelly, and 
found that Dr. Dawson had arrived there on the 11th. 
The doctor also had experienced many delays, and had 
heard the same story of the Indian uprising in the interior. 
I was pleased to find that he was in no immediate want of 
provisions, the fear of which had caused me a great deal of 
uneasiness on the way down the river, as it was arranged 
between us in Victoria that I Avas to take with me provi- 
sions for his party to do them until their return to the 
coast. The doctor was so much behind the time arranged 
to meet me that he determined to start for the coast at 
once. I therefore set about making a short report and 
plan of my survey to this point ; and, as I was not likely 
to get another opportunity of writing at such length for a 
year, I applied myself to a correspondence designed to 
satisfy my friends and acquaintances for the ensuing 
twelve months. This necessitated three days' hard work. 

" On the morning of the 17tli the doctor left for the out- 
side world, leaving me with a feeling of loneliness that only 
those Avho have experienced it can realize. I remained 
at the mouth of the Pelly during the next day taking mag- 
netic and astronomical observations, and making some 
measurements of the river. On the 19tli I resumed the 
survey and reached White Eiver on the 25th. Here I spent 



KL OXD YKE FA CTS. 49 

most of a day trying to ascend this river, but found it im- 
practicable, on account of the swift current and shallow 
and very muddy water. The water is so muddy that it is 
impossible to see through one-eighth of an inch of it. 
The current is very strong, probably eight miles or more 
per hour, and the numerous bars in the bed are constantly 
changing place. After trying for several hours, the base 
men succeeded in doing about half a mile only, and I came 
to the conclusion that it was useless to try to get up this 
stream to the boundary with canoes. Had it proved 
feasible I had intended making a survey of this stream to 
the boundary, to discover more esj^ecially the facilities it 
offered for the transport of supplies in the event of a 
survey of the International Boundary being undertaken. 

'' I reached Stewart River on the 26th. Here I remained 
a day taking magnetic observations, and getting informa- 
tion from a miner, named McDonald, about the country 
up that river. McDonald had s^^ent the summer up the 
river prospecting and exploring. His information will be 
given in detail further on. 

" Fort Reliance was reached on the 1st of September, and 
Forty Mile River (Cone-Hill River of Schwatka) on the 
7th. In the interval between Fort Reliance and Forty 
^lile River there were several days lost by rain. 

''At Forty Mile River I made some arrangements with 
the traders there (]Messrs. Harper & McQuestion) about 
supplies during the winter, and about getting Indians to 
assist me in crossing from the Yukon to the head of the 
Porcupine, or perhaps on to the Peel River. I then made 
a survey of the Forty Mile River up to the canon. I 
found the canon would be difficult of ascent, and dangerous 
to descend, and therefore, concluded to defer further 
operations until the winter, and until after I had deter- 
mined the longitude of my winter post near the boundary, 
when I would be in a much better position to locate the 
4 



50 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

intersection of the International Boundary with this river, 
a point important to determine on account of the number 
and richness of the mining claims on the river. 

" I left Forty Mile Eiver for the boundary line between 
Alaska and the Northwest Territories on the 12th Sep- 
tember, and finished the survey to that point on the 14th. 
I then spent two days in examining the valley of the river 
in the vicinity of the boundary to get the most extensive 
view of the horizon possible, and to find a tree large enough 
to serve for a transit stand. 

" Before leaving Toronto I got Mr, Foster to make large 
brass plates with V's on them, which could be screwed 
firmly to a stump, and thus be made to serve as a transit 
stand. I required a stump at least 22 inches in diameter 
to make a base large enough for the plates Avhen properly 
placed for the transit. In a search which covered about 
four miles of the river bank, on both sides, I found only 
one tree as large as 18 inches. I mention this fact to give 
an idea of the size of the trees along the river in this 
vicinity. I had this stump enlarged by firmly fixing pieces 
on the sides so as to bring it up to the requisite size. This 
done, I built around the stump a small transit house of 
the ordinary form and then mounted and adjusted my 
transit. Meanwhile, most of the party were busy prepar- 
ing our winter quarters and building a magnetic observa- 
tory. As I had been led to expect extremely low temper- 
atures during the winter, I adopted precautionary measures, 
so as to be as comfortable as circumstances would permit 
during our stay there. 

DESCKIPTIOX OF THE YUKOX, ITS AFFLUENT STREAMS, 
AND THE ADJACENT COUNTRY. 

^' I will now give, from my own observation and from 
information received, a more detailed description of the 



KLOSBYKE FACTS. 51 

Lewes Eiver, its affluent streams, and the resources of the 
adjacent country. 

'*' For the purpose of navigation a description of the 
Lewes River begins at the head of Lake Bennet. Above 
that point, and between it and Lake Lindeman, there is 
only about three-quarters of a mile of river, which is not 
more than fifty or sixty yards wide, and two or three feet 
deep, and is so swift and rough that navigation is out of 
the question, 

"Lake Lindeman is about five miles long and half a mile 
wide. It is deep enough for all ordinary purposes. Lake 
Bennet * is twenty-six and a quarter miles long, for the 
upper fourteen of which it is about half a mile wide. 
About midway in its length an arm comes in from the 
west, which Schwatka appears to have mistaken for a 
river, and named Wheaton River. This arm is wider than 
the other arm down to that point, and is reported by 
Indians to be longer and heading in a glacier which lies in 
the pass at the head of Chilkoot Inlet. This arm is, as 
far as seen, surrounded by high mountains, apparently 
much higher than those on the arm we travelled down. 
Below the junction of the two arms the lake is about one 
and a half miles wide, with deep water. Above the forks 
the water of the east branch is muddy. This is c:iused by 
the streams from the numerous glaciers on the head of 
the tributaries of Lake Lindeman. 

'• A stream which flows into Lake Bennet at the south- 
west corner is also very dirty, and has shoaled quite a large 
portion of the lake at its mouth. The beach at the lower 
end of this lake is comparatively flat and the water shoal. 

* A small saw-mill has been erected at the head of Lake Ben- 
net : lumber for boat building sells at .§100 per M. Boats 25 feet 
long and 5 feet beam are $60 each. Last year the ice broke up 
in the lake on the 12th June, but this season is earlier and the 
boats are expected to go down the lake about the 1st of June. 



52 KLONBYKE FACTS. 

A deep, wide valley extends northwards from the north 
end of the lake, apparently reaching to the canon, or a 
short distance above it. This may have been originally a 
course for the waters of the river. The bottom of the 
valley is wide and sandy, and covered with scrubby timber, 
principally poplar and pitcli-pine. The waters of the lake 
empty at the extreme north-east angle through a channel 
not more than one hundred yards wide, which soon expands 
into what Schwatka called Lake Nares.* Through tliis 
narrow channel there is quite a current, and more than 7 
feet of water, as a 6 foot paddle and a foot of arm added 
to its length did not reach the bottom. 

"The hills at the upper end of Lake Lindeman rise 
abruptly from the water's edge. At the lower end they are 
neither so steep nor so high. 

" Lake Nares is only two and a half miles long, and its 
greatest width is about a mile ; it is not deep, but is navi- 
gable for boats drav/ing 5 or C feet of water ; it is separated 
from Lake Bennet by a shallow sandy point of not more 
than 200 yards in length. 

"No streams of any consequence empty into either of 
these lakes. A small river flows into Lake Bennet on the 
west side, a short distance north of the fork, and another 
at the extreme north-west angle, but neither of them is of 
any consequence in a navigable sense. 

" LakeNares flows through a narrow curved channel into 
Bove Lake (Schwatka). This channel is not more than 
GOO or 700 yards long, and the water in it appears to be suf- 
ficiently deep for boats that could navigate the lake. The 
land between the lakes along this channel is low, swampy, 
and covered with willows, and, at the stage in which I saw 
it, did not rise more than 3 feet above the water. The 
hills on the southwest side slope up easily, and are not 

*The connecting waters between Lake Bennet and Tagish 
Lake constitute what is now called Caribou Crossing. 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 53 

high ; on the nortli side the deep valley already referred to 
borders it ; and on the east side the mountains rise abruptly 
from the lake shore. 

" Bove Lake (called Tagish Lake by Dr. Dawson) is 
about a mile wide for the first two miles of its length, when 
it is joined by what the miners have called the Windy Arm. 
One of the Tagish Indians informed me they called it 
Takone Lake. Here the lake expands to a width of about 
two miles for a distance of some three miles, when it sud- 
denly narrows to about half a mile for a distance of a little 
over a mile, after which it widens again to about a mile 
and a half or more. 

*' Ten miles from the head of the lake it is joined by the 
Taku Arm from the south. This arm must be of consider- 
able length, as it can be seen for a long distance, and its 
valley can be traced through the mountains much farther 
than the lake itself can be seen. It is apparently over a 
mile wide at its mouth or junction. 

" Dr. Dawson includes Bove Lake and these two arms 
under the common name of Tagish Lake. This is much 
more simple and comprehensive than the various names 
given them by travellers. These Avaters collectively are 
the fishing and hunting grounds of the Tagish Indians, and 
as they are really one body of water, there is no reason why 
they should not be all included under one name. 

'-' From the junction with the Taku Arm to the north end 
of the lake the distance is about six miles, the greater part 
being over two miles wide. The west side is very flat and 
shallow, so much so that it was impossible in many places 
to get our canoes to the shore, and quite a distance out in 
the lake there was not more than 5 feet of water. The 
members of my party who were in charge of the large boat 
and outfit, went down the east side of the lake and reported 
the depth about the same as I found on the west side, with 
many large rocks. They passed through it in the night in 



54 KLONBYKE FACTS. 

a rainstorm, and were much alarmed for the safety of the 
boat and provisions. It would appear that this part of the 
lake requires some improvement to make it in keeping 
with the rest of the water system with which it is con- 
nected. 

"Where the river debouches from it, it is about 150 
yards wide, and for a short distance not more than 5 or 6 
feet deep. The depth is, however, soon increased to 10 
feet or more, and so continues down to what Schwatka 
calls Marsh Lake. The miners call it Mud Lake, but on 
this name they do not appear to be agreed, many of them 
calling the lower part of Tagish or Bove Lake " Mud 
Lake," on account of its shallowness and flat muddy shores, 
as seen along the west side, the side nearly always travelled, 
as it is more sheltered from the prevailing southerly winds. 
The term "Mud Lake" is, however, not applicable to this 
lake, as only a comparatively small part of it is shallow or 
muddy ; and it is nearly as inapplicable to Marsh Lake, as 
the latter is not markedly muddy along the west side, and 
from the appearance of the east shore one would not judge 
it to be so, as the banks appear to be high and gravelly. 

" Marsh Lake is a little over nineteen miles long, and 
averages about two miles in width. I tried to determine 
the width of it as I Avent along with my survey, by taking 
azimuths of points on the eastern shore from different 
stations of the survey ; but in only one case did I succeed, 
as there were no jirominent marks on that shore which 
could be identified from more than one place. The piece 
of river connecting Tagish and Marsh Lakes is about five 
miles long, and averages 150 to 200 yards in width, and, as 
already mentioned, is deep, except for a short distance at the 
head. On it are situated the only Indian houses to be found 
in the interior with any pretension to skill in construction. 
They show much more labor and imitativeness than one 
knowing anything about the Indian in his native state 



KLONBYKE FACTS. 55 

would expect. The plan is evidently taken from the Indian 
houses on the coast, which appear to me to be a poor copy 
of the houses which the Hudson's Bay Comjjany's servants 
build around their trading posts. These houses do not 
appear to have been used for some time past, and are almost 
in ruins. The Tagish Indians are now generally on the 
coast, as they find it much easier to live there than in their 
own country. As a matter of fact, what they make 
in their own country is taken from them by the Coast 
Indians, so that there is little inducement for them to 
remain. 

'^ The Lewes River, where it leaves Marsh Lake, is about 
200 yards wide, and averages this Avidth as far as the canon. 
I did not try to find bottom anywhere as I went along, ex- 
cept where I had reason to think it shallow, and there I 
always tried with my paddle. I did not anywhere find 
bottom with this, which shows that there is no part of this 
stretch of the river with less than six feet of water at 
medium height, at which stage it appeared to me the river 
was at that time. 

''From the head of Lake Bennet to the canon the cor- 
rected distance is ninety-five miles, all of which is navigable 
for boats drawing 5 feet or more. Add to this the westerly 
arm of Lake Bennet, and the Takone or Windy Arm of 
Tagish Lake, each about fifteen miles in length, and the 
Taku Arm of the latter lake, of unknown length, but prob- 
ably not less than thirty miles, and Ave have a stretch of 
water of upwards of one hundred miles in length, all easily 
navigable ; and, as has been pointed out, easily connected 
with Taiya Inlet through the White Pass. 

'' No streams of any importance enter any of these lakes 
so far as I know. A river, called by Schwatka " McClin- 
tock River,'' enters Marsh Lake at the loAver end from the 
east. It occupies a large valley, as seen from the westerly 
side of the lake, but the stream is apparently unimportant. 



56 KLONhYKE FACTS. 

Another small stream, apparently only a creek, enters the 
south-east angle of the lake. It is not probable tliat any 
stream coming from the east side of the lake is of import- 
ance, as the strip of country between the Ijcwes and Teslin- 
too is not more than than thirty or forty miles in width at 
this point. 

'* The Taku Arm of Tagish Lake, is, so far, with the ex- 
ception of reports from Indians, unknown ; but it is equally 
improbable that any river of importance enters it, as it is 
so near the source of the waters flowing northwards. How- 
ever, this is a question that can only be decided by a proper 
exploration. The canon I have already described and will 
only add that it is five-eighths of a mile long, about 100 feet 
wide, with perpendicular banks of basaltic rock from 60 to 
100 feet high. 

" Below the canon proper there is a stretch of rapids for 
about a mile ; then about half a mile of smooth water, fol- 
lowing which are the AVhite Horse Rapids, which are three- 
eighths of a mile long, and unsafe for boats. 

"The total fall in the caiion and succeeding rapids was 
measured and found to be 3::^ feet. Were it ever necessary 
to make this i)art of the river navigable it will be no easy 
task to overcome the obstacles at this point ; but a tram or 
raihvay could, with very little difficulty, be constructed 
along the east side of the river past the canon. 

*' For some distance below the AVhite Horse Kapids the 
current is swift and the river wide, with many gravel bars. 
The reach between these rapids and Lake Labarge, a dis- 
tance of twenty-seven and a half miles, is all smooth water, 
with a strong current. The average width is about 150 
yards. There is no impediment to navigation other than 
the swift current, and this is no stronger than on tlie lower 
part of the river, which is already navigated : nor is it 
worse than on the Saskatchewan and Eed Rivers in the 
more eastern part of our territory. 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 57 

" About midway iu this stretch the Tahkeena River * 
Joins the Lewes. This river is, apparently, about half the 
size of the latter. Its waters are muddy, indicating the 
passage through a clayey district. I got some indefinite 
information about this river from an Indian who happened 
to meet me just below its mouth, but I could not readily 
nuike him understand me, and his replies were a compound 
of Chinook, Tagish, and signs, and therefore largely unin- 
telligible. From what I could understand Avith any cer- 
tainty, the river was easy to descend, there being no bad 
rapids, and it came out of a lake much larger than any I 
had yet passed. 

' ' Here I may remark that I have invariably found it 
difficult to get reliable or definite information from Indians, 
The reasons for this are many. Most of the Indians it has 
been my lot to meet are expecting to make something, and 
consequent]}' are very chary about doing or saying anything 
unless they think they will be Avell rewarded for it. They 
are naturally very suspicious of strangers, and it takes some 
tinu', and some knowledge of their language, to overcome 
this suspicion and gain their confidence. If you begin at 
once to ask questions about their country, Avithout pre- 
viously having thenrunderstand that you have no unfriend- 
ly motive in doing so, they become alarmed, and altliough 
you may not meet with a positive refusal to ansAver ques- 
tions, you make A'ery little progress in getting desired in- 
formation. On the other hand I have met cases Avhere, 
either through fear or hope of rcAvard, they Avere only too 
anxious to impart all they kncAV or had heard, and even 
more if they thouglifc it Avould jjlease their hearer, I need 
hardly say that such information is often not at all in ac- 
cordance Avitli the facts. 

* The Tahkeeua was formerly much used by the Chilkat Indians 
as a means of reaching the interior, but ncAer by the miners 
OAvint? to the distance from the sea to its head. 



58 ELONDYKE FACTS. 

" I have several times found that some act of mine when 
in their presence lias aroused either their fear, superstition 
or cupidity. As an instance : on the Bell Eiver I met some 
Indiaiis coming down stream as I was going up. "VYe were 
ashore at the time, and invited them to join us. They 
started to come in, but very slowly, and all the time kept 
a watchful eye on us. I noticed that my double-barrelled 
shot gun was lying at my feet, loaded, and picked it up to 
unload it, as I knew they would be handling it after land- 
ing. This alarmed them so much that it was some time 
before they came in, and I don't think they would have 
come ashore at all had they not heard that a joarty of 
white men of whom we answered the description, were com- 
ing through that way (they had learned this from the 
Hudson's Bay Company's officers), and concluded we were 
the party described to them. After drinking some of our 
tea, and getting a supply for themselves, they became quite 
friendly and communicative. 

" I cite these as instances of what one meets with Avho 
comes in contact with Indians, and of how trifles affect 
them. A sojourn of two or three days with them and the 
assistance of a common friend would do much to disabuse 
them of such ideas, but when you have no such aids you 
must not expect to make much progress. 

" Lake Labarge is thirty-one miles long. In the upjier 
thirteen it varies from three to four miles in width ; it then 
narrows to about two miles for a distance of seven miles, 
when it begins to widen again, and gi'adually expands to 
about two and a-half or three miles, the lower six miles of 
it maintaining the latter width. The survey was carried 
along the western shore, and while so engaged I deter- 
mined the Avidth of the upper wide part by triangulation 
at two points, the width of the narrow middle part at three 
points, and the width of the lower part at three points. 
Dr. Dawson on his way out made a track survey of the 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 59 

(fjistern shore. The western sliore is irregular in many 
places, being indented by large bays, especially at the upper 
and lower ends. These bays are, as a rule, shallow, more 
especially those at the lower end. 

" Just above where the lake narrows in the middle there 
hi a large island. It is three and a-half miles long and 
about half a mile in width. It is shown on Schwatka's 
ma}) as a peninsula, and called by liim Richtofcn Rocks. 
How he came to tliink it a peninsula I cannot understand, 
as it is well out in the lake ; the nearest point of it to tlie 
western shore is u])wur(ls (d' half a mile distant, and tlie 
extreme width of the lake hvvc. is not more than five miles, 
wliic.h includes the depth of tlie deepest bays on the western 
side. It is therefore difficult to understand that he did not 
see it as an island. The upper half of this island is gravelly, 
and does not rise very high above the lake. The lower end 
is rocky and high, the rock being of a bright red color. 

"At the lower end of the lake there is a large valley ex- 
tending northwards, which has evidently at one time been 
the outlet of the lake. Dr. Dawson has noted it and its 
peculiarities. His remarks regarding it will be found on 
pages 150-160 of his report entitled ' Yukon District and 
Northern portion of British Columbia,' puldished in 1<S80. 

" The width of the Lewes Kiver as it leaves the lake is the 
same as at its entrance, about 200 yards. Its waters when 
I was there were murky. This is caused by the action of 
the waves on the shore along the lower end of the lake. 
The water at the upper end and at the middle of the lake 
is quite clear, so much so that the bottom can be distinctly 
seen at a depth of 6 or 7 feet. The wind blows almost 
constantly down this lake, and in a high wind it gets very 
rough. The miners complain of much detention owing to 
this cause, and certainly I cannot complain of a lack of 
wind while I was on the lake. This lake was named after 
one Mike Labarge, who was engaged by the AYestern Union 



60 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

Telegraph Company, exploring the river and adjacent 
country for the purpose of connecting Europe and America 
by telegraph through British Columbia, and Alaska, and 
across Behring Strait to Asia, and thence to Europe. Tliis 
exploration took place in 1SG7, but it does not appear that 
Labarge then, nor for some years after, saw the lake called 
by his name. The successful laying of the Atlautio cable 
in 1866 put a stop to this project, and the exploring parties 
sent out were recalled as soon as Avord could be got to them. 
It seems that Labarge had got up as far as the Pelly before 
he received his recall ; he had heard something of a large 
lake some distance further up the river, and afterwards 
spoke of it to some traders and miners who called it after 
liim. 

" After leaving Lake Lal>arge the river, for a distance 
of about five miles, preserves a generally uniform width 
and an easy current of about four miles per hour. It then 
makes a short turn round a low gravel point, and flows in 
exactly the opposite of its general course for a mile when it 
again turns sharply to its general direction. The current 
around this curve and for some distance below it — in all 
four or five miles — is very swift. I timed it in several 
places and found it from six to seven miles an hour. It 
then moderates te four or live, and continues so until the 
Teslintoo River is reached, thirty-one and seven tenths 
miles from Lake Labarge. Tlie average width of this part 
of the river is about 150 yards, and the depth is sufficient 
to afford passage for boats drawing at least 5 feet. It is, as 
a rule, crooked, and consequently a little difficult to navi- 
gate. 

" The Teslintoo * was so called by Dr. Dawson — this, ac- 

*Tlie limited amount of prospecting that has been done on this 
river is said to be very satisfactory, fine gold having been found 
in all jiarts of the triver. The lack of supplies is the great draw- 
back to its development, and this will not be overcoaie to any ex- 



k'LONbVKE FACTS. %\ 

fcording to iuforniation obtained by him, being the Indian 
name. It is called by tlie miners * Hootalinkwa ' or 
HotaliiK|iia. and was called l)y S(dnvatka, who appears to 
have bestowed no other attention to it, the Xewberry, al- 
though it is apparently much larger than the Lewes. This 
was so apparent that in my interim reports I stated it as a 
fact. Owing to circumstances already narrated. 1 liad not 
time wliile at the moutli to make any measurement to de- 
termine the relative size of tlie rivers : but on his Avay out 
Dr. Dawson nuide these measurements, and his report, be- 
fore referred to, gives the following values of the cross sec- 
tions of each stream : Lewes, 3,015 feet ; Teslintoo, 3,809 
feet. In the same connection he states that the Lewes ap- 
peared to be about 1 foot above its lowest summer level, 
while the Teslintoo a[)peared to lie fit its lowest level. 
Assuming tliis to be so, and taking his widths as our data, 
it would reduce his cross section of the Lewes to 2,595 feet. 
Owing, however, to the current in the Lewes, as determined 
by Dr. Dawson, being just double that of the Teslintoo, 
the figures being 5*0<S and 2'88miU's per hour, respectively, 
the discharge of the Lewes, taking these figures again in 
18,644 feet, and of the Teslintoo 1 1..436 feet. To reduce 
the Lewes to its lowest level the doctor says would make 
its discharge 15,000 feet. 

'' The M'ater of the Teslintoo is of a dark brown color, 
similar in appearance to the Ottawa Eiver water, and a little 
turbid. Xotwithstanding the difference of volume of dis- 
tent until by some means heavy freight can be brought over the 
coast range to the head of the river. Indeed, owing to tlie diftl- 
cnlties attending access and transportation, the great drawback to 
the entire Yukon district at present is the want of heavy mining 
machinery and the scarcity of supplies. The government being 
aware of tlie requirements and possibilities of the country, has 
undertaken the task of making preliminary surveys for trails and 
railroads, and no doubt in the near future the avenue for better 
and quicker transportation facilities will Ije opened up. 



62 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

charge, the Teslintoo changes completely the character of 
the river below the junction, and a person coming nj) the 
river would, at the forks, unhesitatingly pronounce the 
Teslintoo the main stream. The water of the Lewes is 
blue in color, and at the time I speak of was somewhat 
dirty — not enough so, however, to prevent one seeing to a 
depth of two or three feet. 

" At the junction of the Lewes and Teslintoo I met two 
or three families of the Indians who hunt in the vicinity. 
One of them could sjDeak a little Chinook. As I had two 
men with me who understood his jargon perfectly, with their 
assistance I tried to get some information from him about 
the river. He told me the river was easy to ascend, and 
presented the same appearance eight days journey up as at 
the mouth ; then a lake was reached, 'vhich took one day 
to cross ; the river was then followed again for half a day 
to another lake, which took two days to traverse : into this 
lake emptied a stream which they used as a highway to the 
coast, passing by way of the Taku River. He said it took 
four days when they had loads to carry, from the head of 
canoe navigation on the Teslintoo to salt water on the Taku 
Lilet ; but when they come light they take only one to two 
days. He spoke also of a stream entering the large lake 
from the east which came from a distance ; but they did 
not seem to know much about it, and considered it outside 
their country. If their time intervals are approximately 
accurate, they mean that there are about 200 miles of good 
river to the first lake, as they ought easily to make 25 miles 
a day on the river as I saw it. The lake takes one day to 
traverse, and is at least 25 miles long, followed by say 12 
of river, which brings us to the large lake, which takes two 
days to cross, say 50 or CO more — in all about 202 miles — 
say 300 to the head of canoe navigation ; while tlie distance 
from the head of Lake Bennet to the junction is only 188. 
Assuming the course of the Teslintoo to be nearly south 




THE NORTHERN BuUNDART OF BRITISU COLUillilA 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 6'i 

(it is a little to the east of it),, and throwing out every 
fourth mile for bends, tlie remainder gives lis in arc three 
degrees and a quarter of latitude, Avhich, deducted from 
Gl° 40', the latitude of the Junction, gives us 58° 25', or 
nearly t le latitude of Juneau. 

" T" make sure that I understood the Indian aright, and 
that he knew what ho was speaking about, I got him to 
sketch the river and lake, as he described them, on the 
sand, and repeat the same several times. 

" I afterwards met ^[r. T. Boswell, his brother, and an- 
other miner, wlio had spent most of the summer on the 
river prospecting, and from them I gathered the following : 

" The distance to the first, andonlylake which they saw, 
they put at 175 miles, and the lake itself they call at 
least 150 miles long, as it took them fonr days to row in a 
light l)oat fi-om end to end. The portage to the sea they 
did not appear to know anything about, but describe a 
large bay on the east side of the lake, into which a river of 
considerable size entered. This river occupies a wide 
valley, surrounded by high mountains. They thought this 
river must head near Liard River. This account diffei-s 
materially from that given by the Indian, and to put them 
on their guard, I told them what he had told me, but they 
still persisted in their story, which I find differs a good 
deal from the acconnt they gave Dr. Dawson, as incorpo- 
rated in his report. 

" Many years ago, sixteen I thiiik, a man named Monroe 
prospected up the Taku and learned from the Indians 
something of a large lake not far from that river. He 
(crossed over and found it, and spent some time in prospect- 
ing, and then recrossed to the sea. This man had been at 
Forty Mile Eiver, and I heard from the miners there his 
account of the appearance of the lake, which amounted 
generally to this : The Boswells did not know anything 
about it." It was unfortunate the Boswells did not remain 



64 KLONDTKE FA&TS. 

at Forty Mile all winter, as by a comparison of recollections 
tliey might have arrived at some correct conclusion. 

" Conflicting as these descriptions are, one thing is cer- 
tain : this branch, if it has not the greater discharge, is the 
longer and more important of the two, and offers easy 
and uninterrnpted navigation for more tlian double the 
distance which the Lewes does, the canon being only ninety 
miles above the mouth of the Teslintoo. Tlie Boswells 
rejiorted it as containing much more useful timber than 
tbe Lewes, which indeed one Avould infer from its lower 
altitude. 

" Assuming this as the main river, and adding its length 
to the Lewes- Yukon below the junction, gives upward of 
2,200 miles of river, fully two-thirds of which runs through 
a very mountainous country, without an impediment to 
navigation. 

" Some indefinite information was obtained as to the 
position of this river in the neighborhood of Marsh Lake 
tending to show that the distance between them was only 
about thirty or forty miles. 

" Between the Teslintoo and the Big Salmon, so called by 
tbe miners, or D'Abbadie by Schwatka, the distance is 
thirty-three and a-half miles, in which the Lewes preserves 
a generally uniform width and current. For a few miles 
below the Teslintoo it is a little over the ordinary width, 
but then contracts to about two hundred yards which it 
maintains with little variation. The current is generally 
from four to five miles per hour. 

" The Big Salmon I found to be about one hundred yards 
wide near the mouth, the depth not more than four or five 
feet, and the current, so far as could be seen, sluggish. 
None of the miners I met could give me any information con- 
cerning this stream ; but Dr. Dawson was more fortunate, 
and met a man who had spent most of the summer of 1887 
prospecting on it. His opinion was that it might be navi- 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 65 

gable for small stern-wheel steamers for many miles. 
The valley, as seen from thp mouth, is wide, and gives one 
the impression of being ocenpied by a much more impor- 
tant stream. Looking np it, in the distance could be seen 
many high peaks covered with snow. As the date was 
August it is likely they are always so covered, Avhicli would 
make their probable altitude above the river 5,000 feet 
or more. 

" Dr. Dawson, in his report, incorporates fully the notes 
obtained from the miners. I will trespass so far on these 
as to say that they called the distance to a small lake near 
the head of the river, 190 miles from the mouth. This 
lake was estimated to be four miles in length ; another lake 
about 12 miles above this was estimated to be twenty-four 
miles long, and its upper end distant only about eight 
miles from the Teslintoo. These distances, if correct, 
make this river much more important than a casual glance 
at it would indicate ; this, however, will be more fully 
spoken of under its proper head. 

'" Just below the Big Salmon the Lewes takes a bend of 
nearly a right angle. Its course from the junction with 
the Tahkeena to this point is generally a little east of north ; 
at this point it turns to nearly west for some distance. Its 
course between here and its confluence with tlie Pelly is 
north-west, and, I may add, it preserves this generiil direc- 
tion doAvn to the confluence with the Porcu2)ino. The 
river also changes in another respect ; it is generally wider, 
and often expands into what might be called lakes, in 
which are islands. Some of the lakes are of considerable 
length, and well timbered. 

" To determine which channel is the main one, that is, 
which carries the greatest volume of water, or is best avail- 
able for the purposes of navigation, among these islands, 
would require more time than I could devote to it on my 
way down ; consequently I cannot say more than that I have 
5 



66 KLONLYKE FACTS. 

no reason to doubt that a channel giving six feet or more 
of water could e;;sily be found. Whenever, in the main 
channel, I had reason to think the water shallow, I tried 
it with my paddle, but always failed to find bottom, which 
gives upward of six feet. Of course I often found less than 
this, but not in what I considered the main channel. 

" Thirty-six and a quarter miles below the Big Salmon, 
the Little Salmon — the Daly of Schwatka — enters the 
Lewes. This river is about 60 yards wide at the mouth, 
and not more than two or three feet in depth. The water 
is clear and of a broAvuish hue ; there is not much current 
at the mouth, nor as far as can be seen up the stream. 
The valley Avhich, from the mouth, does not aj^pear ex- 
tensive, bears northeast for some distance, when it ap- 
pears to turn more to the east. . Six or seven miles up, and 
apjDarently on the north side, some high cliffs of red 
rock, apparently granite, can be seen. It is said that 
some miners have prospected this stream, but I could learn 
nothing definite about it. 

"Lewes River makes a turn here to the southwest, and 
runs in that direction six miles, when it again turns to the 
northwest for seven miles, and then makes a short, sharp, 
turn to the south and west around a low sandy point, 
which will, at some day in the near future, be cut through 
by the current, which will shorten the river three or four 
miles. 

*' Eight miles below Little Salmon River, a large rock 
called the Eagle's Nest, stands up in a gravel slope on the 
easterly bank of the river. It rises about five hundred 
feet above the river, and is composed of a light gray stone. 
AVhat the character of this rock is I could not observe, as I 
saw it only from the river, Avhich is about a quarter of a 
mile distant. On the westerly side of the river there are 
two or three other isolated masses of apparently the 
same kind of rock. One of them might be appropriately 



KLONDIKE FACTS. 67 

called a mountain ; it is south-west from the Eagle's Xost 
and distant from it about three miles. 

" Thirty-two miles below Eagle's Xcst Rock, Xordenskiold 
River enters from the west. It is an unimportant stream, 
being not more than one hundred and twenty feet Avido at 
the mouth, and only a few inches deep. The valley, as far 
as can be seen, is not extensive, and, being very crooked, it 
is hard to tell what its general direction is. 

"The Lewes, between the Little Salmon and the Xor- 
denskiold, maintains a width of from two to three hundred 
yards, with an occasional expansion where there are 
islands. It is serpentine in its course most of the way, 
and where the X'ordenskiold Joins it is very crooked, run- 
ning several times under a hill, named by Schwatka Tan- 
talus Butte, and in other places leaving it, for a distance 
of eight miles. The distance across from point to point 
is only half a mile. 

' ' Below this to Five Finger Rapids, so-called from the 
fact that five large masses of rock stand in mid-chaunel, 
the river assumes its ordinary straightness and width, with 
a current from four to five miles ])er hour. I have already 
described Five Finger Rapids ; I do not think they will 
prove anything more than a slight obstruction in the 
navigation of the river. A boat of ordinary j)ower would 
probably have to help herself up with windlass and line in 
high water. 

" Below the rapids, for about two miles, the current is 
strong — probably six miles per hour — but the water seems 
to be deep enough for any boat that is likeW to navigate it. 

" Six miles below this, as already noticed. Rink Rapids 
arc situated. They are of no great importance, the 
westerly half of the stream only being obstructed. The 
easterly half is not in any way affected, the current being 
smooth and the water deep. 

** Below Five Finger Rapids about two miles a small 



68 KLONBYKE FACTS. 

stream enters from the east. It is called by Dr. Dawson 
Tatshun River. It is not more than 30 or 40 feet wide at 
the month, and contains only a little clear, broAvnish water. 
Here I met the only Indians seen on the river between 
Teslintoo and Stewart Elvers. They were engaged in 
catching salmon at the month of the Tatshnn, and were 
the poorest and most nnintelligent Indians it has ever 
been my lot to meet. It is needless to say that none of 
our party understood anything they said, as they conl^ 
not speak a word of any language but their own. I tried 
by signs to get some information from tliem about the 
stream they were' fishing in, but failed. I tried in the 
same way to learn if there were any more Indians in the 
vicinity, but again utterly failed. I then tried by signs to 
find out how many days it took to go down to Pelly River, 
but although I have never known these signs to fail in 
eliciting information in any other part of the territory, 
they did not understand. They appeared to be alarmed 
by our presence ; and, as we had not yet been assured as 
to the rumor concerning the trouble between the miners 
and Indians, we felt a little apprehensive, but being able 
to learn nothing from them Ave had to put our fears aside 
and proceed blindly. 

^' Between Five Finger Rapids and Pelly River, fifty- 
eight and a half-miles, no streams of any importance enter 
the Lewes ; in fact, with the exception of the Tatshun, it 
may be said that none at all enter. 

'^ About a mile below Rink Rapids the river spreads out 
into a lake-like expanse, vrith many islands ; this continues 
for about three miles, when it contracts to something like 
the usual width ; but bars and small islands are very 
numerous all the way to Pelly River. About five miles 
above Pelly River there is another lake-like expanse filled 
Avith islands. The river here for three or four miles is 
nearly a mile Avide, and so numerous and close are the 



KLONDYEE FACTS. 69 

islands that it is im2)ossible to tell when floating among 
them where the sliores of the river are. The current, too, 
is swift, lending one to snppose the water shallow ; but I 
think even here a channel deep enough for such boats as 
will navigate this part of the river can be found. Schwatka 
named this group of islands " Ingersoll Islands." 

"At the month of the Pell}^ the Lewes is about half a 
mile wide, and here too there are many islands, but not 
in groups as at Ingersoll Islands. 

" About a mile below the Pelly, Just at the ruins of Fort 
►Selkirk, the Yukon was found to be 5G5 yards wide ; about 
two-thirds being ten feet deep, with a current of about 
four and three-quarter miles per hour ; the remaining 
third was more than half taken up by a bar, and the 
current between it and the south shore was very slack, 

" Pelly River at its mouth is about two hundred yards 
wide, and continues this width as far up as could be seen. 
Dr. Dawson made a survey and examination of this river, 
which will be found in his report already cited, " Yukon 
District and Northern British Columbia." 

"Just here for a short distance the course of the Yukon 
is nearly west, and on tlie south side, about a mile below the 
mouth of the Lewes, stands all that remains of the only 
trading post ever built by white men in the district. This 
post was established by Robert Campbell, for the Hudson's 
Bay Company in the summer of 1848. It was first built on 
the point of land between the two rivers, but this location 
proving untenable on account of flooding by ice jams in the 
spring, it was, in the season of 1852, moved across the river 
to where the ruins now stand. It appears that the houses 
composing the post were not finished when the Indians 
from the coast on Chilkat and Chilkoot Inlets came down 
the river to put a stop to the competitive trade which jMr. 
Campbell had inaugurated, and which they found to 
seriously intefere with their profits. Their method of trade 



70 KLONDIKE FACTS. 

appears to have been then jjretty much as it is now-^^very 
onesided. Wliat they found it convenient to take by 
force they took, and what it was convenient to pay for at 
tlieir own price they paid for. 

" Ituinors liad reached tlie post tlnit tlie coast Indians 
contemplated sucli a raid, and in consequence the native 
Indians in tlie vicinity remained about nearly all summer. 
Unfortunately, they Avent away for a short time, and dur- 
ing their absence tlic coast Indians an-ivcd in the early 
morning', and siir|irised Mi', ('anipl)cll in l)ed. They Avere 
not at all roii^li with liiin, l>iit ,u'avc him the privilege of 
leaving the place within twenty-four hours, after which 
lie Avas informed that he was lial)le to be shot if seen by 
them in the h)cality. 'I'iicy then j)illaged the place and 
set fire to it, leaving nothing but the remains of the tAVo 
chimneys which are still standing. This raid and capture 
took place on the 1st August. 18.V*. 

•* Mr. Campbell droppcil down tlie river, and met some of 
the local Indians who returned with him. but the robbers 
had made their escape. 1 have lu'ard that the local Indians 
Avished to pursue and overtake them, but to this Mr. 
Campbell would iu)t consent. Had they done so it is 
probable not many of the i-aidcrs would have escaped, as 
the superior h)ca] knowledge of the natives Avould have 
given them an advantage difficult to estimate, and the 
confidence and spirit derived fnjm the aid and presence of 
a Avliite man or tAvo Avould be Avorth much in such a 
conflict. 

*' Mr. Campbell Avent on doAvn the river until he met the 
outfit for his post on its way up from Fort Yukon, Avhich 
he turned back. He then ascended the Pelly, crossed to 
the Liard, and reached Fort Simpson, on the Mackenzie, 
late in October. 

•■'Mr. Campbell's first visit to the site of Fort Selkirk 
Avas mjwle in 1840, under instructions from Sir George 



KLONBYKE FACTS. 71 

Simpson, then Governor of the lliidsson'.s Buy Company. 
He crossed from the head waters of the Liard to the waters 
of the Pelly. It appears tlie Pelly, wliere lie struek it, was a 
stream of considerable size, for lie speaks of its appearance 
when he first saw it from ' Pelly Jianks,' the name given 
the bank from which he first beheld it, as a ' splendid 
river in the distance.' In Jnne, 1843, he descended the 
Pelly to its continence with the larger stream, which he 
named the * Lewes.' Here he fonnd many families of the 
native Indians — 'AVood Indians,' he called them. These 
people conveyed to him, as best they could by word and 
sign, the dangers that would attend a further descent of 
the river, rejiresenting that the country below theirs was 
inhabited by a tribe of fierce cannibals, who would assuredly 
kill and eat them. This so terrified his men that he had 
to return by the way he came, pursued, as he aftcu'wards 
learned, by the Indians, who would have murdered him- 
self and party had they got a favorable opportunity. Thus 
it was not nntil 1850 that he could establish, what he says 
he all along believed, 'that the Pelly and Yukon were 
identical.' This he did Ijy descending the river to where 
the i'orcupine joins it. and where in ]S47 Fort Yukon 
"Was established by Mr. A. U. .Murray for tiie Hudson's liay 
Company. 

" With reference to the tales told him by the Indians 
of bad people outside of their country, I may say that 
^Mackenzie tells i)retty much the same story of the Indians 
on the Mackenzie when he discovered and explored that 
river in 1789. He had the advantage of having Indians 
along with him whose language was radically the same as 
that of the people he was coming among, and his state- 
ments are more explicit and detailed. Everywhere he 
came in contact with them they manifested, first, dread of 
himself and party, and when friendship and confidence 
were established they nearly always tried to detain him by 



72 ELONDYKE FACTS. 

representing the peopl(! in IIk; direction he was going an 
unnaturally bloodthirsty and cruel, sometimes asserting 
the existence of monsters with supernatural powers, as ni 
Manitou Island, ;i few miles below the present, i'orl (iood 
Hope, and the people on a very large river far to the west 
of the Mackenzie, 2)robably the Yukon, they descril)ed to 
him as monsters in size, power and cruelty. 

" In our own time, after the intercourse that thci-e has 
been between them and the whites, rju)re than a suspicion 
of KiHih unknown, cruel pe()[)l(! lurks in the minds of numy 
of the Indians. It would be futih; for me to try to ascribe 
an origin for these fears, my knowlcflge of their language 
and idiosyncrasies being so limited. 

"Nothing more was ever done in the; vi(-inity (jf Fort 
Selkirk * by the Hudson's Bay Company after these events, 
and in 1809 the Company was onhu'cd by (Japt. Charles 
W. Kaymond, who represented the United States (Jovern- 
ment, to evacuate the post at Fort Yukon, he having 
found that it was west of the 141st meridian. The jirtst 
was occupied by the Company, however, for some time 
after the receipt of this order, and until Rampart House 
was built, which was intended to be on British territory, 
and to take the trade previously done at Fort Yukon. 

*' Under present conditions the Company cannot very 
well compete with the Alaska Commercial Company, 
whose agents do the only trade in the district, f and they 
appear to have abandoned — for the present at least — all 

* This is now a vi'inter port for steamboats of the North Ameri- 
can Transportation and Trading Company, \>\ying the Yukon and 
its tributaries. There is also a trading post liere owned by 
Harper & Ladue. 

f Since tlie date of this report the North American Transport- 
ation and Trading Company, better known in the Yukon valley 
as " Captain Healy's Company," has established a number of posts 
on the river. 



KLOyjjYKE FACTS. 73 

attempt to do any trarle nearer to it than Kampart Homje 
to which point, notwithistanding the distance and difficul- 
ties in the way, many of the Indians on the Yukon make 
a trip every two or three years to procure goods in ex- 
change for their fare. "JTie clothing and blankets brought 
in by the Hti^' " " ' claim arc much 

U.-tter than th^ '-.r by the Ameri- 

cans. Those of them that 1 saw who had any English 
xhibited them with pride, and ■ ' ' I'good.' 
-■, to an American blanket in c . with the 

remark *no good,* and speak of their clothing in the 
ime way. 

"On many maps of Alaska a place named *Beed's 
House ' is shown on or near the upper waters of Stewart 
River. I made enquiries of all whom I thought likely to 
know anything concerning this post, but failed to elicit 
any information showirig that there ever had been such a 
place. I enquired of Mr, lieid, who was in the Company's 
service with Mr. CampV^ell at Fort Selkirk, and after 
whom I thought, possibly, the place had been called, but 
he told rae he knew of no such p<:^t, but that there was a 
small lake at some distance in a northerly direction from 
Fort Selkirk, wher -ed. A sort ' 

ha^l been made at • ^ fishermen, ; 

furs might have been obtained there, but it was never 
regarded as a trading post. 

'• Below Fort Selkirk, the Yukon River is from five to 
-ix hundred yards broad, and maintains this width down 
to ASliite River, a distance of ninety-six miles. Islands 
are numerous, so much so that there are verj' few j/arts of 
•lie river where there are not one or more in sight. Many 
of them are of considerable size, and nearly all are well 
timl>ere<L Bars are also numerous, but almr/st all are 
composed of gravel, so that navigators will not have to 
complain o' -'''*'' '/ ^iir.^T T.^--, TTi^- r-irr^-rj ;,. ^ iK-ut-ruX 



74 KLONDYKK FAf'T!^. 

thing, is not so rapid as in the npper part of the river, 
averaging abont four miles per hoiTr. The depth in the 
main channel was always fonnd to be more than six feet. 

" From Pelly Elver to within twelve miles of White 
River the general course of the river is a little north of 
west ; it then turns to the north, and the general course 
as far as the site of Fort Eeliance is due north. 

" "White River enters the main river from the west. At 
the mouth it is about two hundred yards wide, but a 
great part of it is filled with ever-shifting sand-bars, the 
main volume of water being confined to a channel not 
more than one hundred yards in width. The current is 
very strong, certainly not less than eight miles per hour. 
The color of the water bears witness to this, as it is much 
the muddiest that I have ever seen.* 

" I had intended to make a survey of part of this river as 
far as the International Boundary, and attempted to do 
so ; but after trying for over half a day, I found it would 
be a task of much labor and time, altogether out of pro- 
portion to the importance of the end sought, and therefore 
abandoned it. The valley as far as can be seen from the 
mouth, runs about due west for a distance of eight miles ; 
it then appears to bear to the south-west ; it is about two 
miles wide where it joins the Pelly valley and apparently 
keeps the same width as far as it can be seen. 

" Mr. Harper, of the firm of Harper & Ladue, went nj} 
this river with sleds in the fall of 1872 a distance of fifty or 
sixty miles. He describes it as possessing the same 

* The White River very probably flows over volcanic deposits 
as its sediments would indicate ; no doubt this would account for 
the discoloration of its waters. The volcanic ash appears to 
cover a great extent of the Upper Yukon basin drained by the 
Lewes and Pelly Rivers. Very full treatment of the subject is 
given by Dr. Dawson, in his report entitled ' ' Yukon District and 
Northern portion of British Columbia," 



KLOXDYKE FACTS. 75 

general features all the way uji, with much clay soil alono- 
its banks. Its general course, as sketched by him on a 
map of mine, is for a distance of about thirty miles a little 
north-west, thence south-west thirty or thirty-five miles, 
when it deflects to the north-west running along the base 
of a high mountain ridge. If the courses given are 
correct it must rise somewhere near the head of Forty Mile 
River ; and if so, its length is not at all in keeping with 
the volume of its discharge, when compared with the known 
length and discharge of other rivers in the territory. Mr. 
Harper mentioned an extensive flat south of the mountain 
range spoken of, across which many high mountain peaks 
could be seen. One of these he thought must be Mount 
St. Elias, as it overtopped all the others ; but, as Blount 
St. Klias is about one hundred and eighty miles distant, 
his conclusion is not tenable. From his description of 
this mountain it must be more than twice the height of 
the highest peaks seen anywhere on the lower river, and 
consequently must be ten or twelve thousand feet abovo 
the sea. . He stated that the current in the river was very 
swift, as far as he ascended, and the water muddy. The 
water from this river, though probably not a fourth of the 
volume of the Yukon, discolors the water of the latter 
completely ; and a couple of miles, below the junction the 
whole river appears almost as dirty as White River. 

" Between White and Stewart Rivers, ten miles, the 
river spreads out to a mile and iijnvards in width, and is a 
maze of islands and l)ars. The survey was carried down 
the easterly shore, and many of the channels passed through 
barely afforded water enough to lloat the canoes. The 
main channel is along the westerly shore, down which the 
large boat went, and the crew reported j)lenty of water. 

*• Stewart River enters from the east in the middle of 
a wide valley, with low hills on both sides, rising on the 
north sides in steps or terraces to distant hills of consider- 



• -—^ ' — io^j -T - ry; ' ^-:;r. ~: r T: 2... 



76 klondyke facts. 

iible height. The river half a mile or so above the mouth, 
is two hundred yards in width. The current is slack and 
the water shallow and clear, but dark colored. 

" While at the mouth I was fortunate enough to meet 
a miner who had spent the whole of the summer 
of 1887 on the river and its branches prosj)ecting and 
exploring. He gave me a good deal of information of 
which I give a summary. He is a native of New Bruns- 
wick, Alexander McDonald by name, and has spent some 
years mining in other places, but was very reticent about 
what he had made or found. Sixty or seventy miles up 
the Stewart a large creek enters from the south which he 
called Rose Bud Creek or River, and thirty or forty miles 
further up a considerable stream flows from the north-east, 
which appears to be Beaver River, as marked on the maps 
of that part of the country. From the head of this stream 
he floated down on a raft taking five days to do so. He 
estimated his progress at forty or fifty miles each day, 
which gives a length of from two hundred to two hundred 
and fifty miles. This is probably an over-estimate, unless 
the stream is very crooked, which, he stated, was not the 
case. As much of his time would be taken up in pros^Dect- 
ing, I should call thirty miles or less a closer estimate of 
his progress. This river is from fifty to eighty yards wide 
and was never more than four or five feet deep, often being 
not more than two or three ; the current, he said, was not 
at all swift. Above the mouth of this stream the main 
river is from one hundred to one hundred and thirty yards 
wide with an even current and clear Avater. Sixty or 
seventy miles above the last-mentioned branch another 
large branch joins, which is possibly the main river. At 
the head of it he found a lake nearly thirty miles long, 
and averaging a mile and a half in width, which he called 
Mayhew Lake, after one of the partners in the firm of 
Harper, McQuestion & Co. 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 77 

"Thirty miles or so ubove the forks on the other branch 
there are falls, which McDonald estimated to be from one 
to two hundred feet in height. I met several parties who 
had seen tliese falls, and they corroborate this estimate of 
their height. McDonald went on past the falls to the 
head of this branch and found terraced gravel hills to the 
west and nortli ; he crossed them to the north and found 
a river flowing northward. On this he embarked on a raft 
and floated down it for a day or two, thinking it would 
turn to the west and join the Stewart, but finding it still 
continuing north, and acquiring too much volume to be 
any of the branches he had seen while passing up the 
Stewart, he returned to the point of his departure, and 
after prospecting among the hills around the head of the 
river, he started westward, crossing a high range of moun- 
tains composed principally of shales with many thin seams 
of what he called quartz, ranging from one to six inches 
in thickness. 

" On the west side of this range he found a river flowing 
out of Avhat he called Mayliew Lake, and crossing this got 
to the head of Beaver River, which he descended as before 
mentioned. 

" It is probable the river flowing northwards, on which 
he made a journey and returned, was a branch of Peel 
River. He described the timber on the gravel terraces of 
the watershed as small and open. lie was alone in this un- 
known wilderness all summer, not seeing even any of the 
natives. There are few men so constituted as to be ca- 
pable of isolating themselves in such a manner. Judging 
from all I could learn it is probable a light-draught steam- 
boat could navigate nearly all of Stewart River and its 
tributaries. 

''From Stewart River to the site of Fort Reliance,* 

*This was at one time a trading post occupied by Messrs. 
Harper & McQuestion. 



78 KLONDYKE FAC'Tfi. 

seventy-tliree and a quarter miles, the Yukon is broad and 
full of islands. The average width is between a half and 
three quarters of a mile, but there are many expansions 
where it is over a mile in breadth ; however, in these places 
it cannot be said that the waterway is Avider than at other 
parts of the river, the islands being so large and numerous. 
In this reach no streams of any importance enter. 

"About thirteen miles below Stewart River a large 
valley joins that of the river, but the stream occupying it 
is only a large creek. This agrees in position with what 
has been called Sixty Mile Creek, which was supposed to 
be about that distance above Fort Reliance, but it does 
not agree with descriptions M'hich I received of it ; more- 
over as Sixty jNIile Creek is known to be a stream of con- 
siderable length, this creek would not answer its descrip- 
tion. 

"Twenty-two and a half miles from Stewart River 
another and larger creek enters from the same side ; it 
agrees with the descriptions of Sixty Mile Creek, and I 
have so marked it' on my map. This stream is of no im- 
portance, except for what mineral wealth may be found 
on it.* 

"Six and a half miU'S above! Fort Reliance tlu- Throii- 

* Sixty Mile Creek is about one hunth-ed miles long, very 
crooked, with a swift current and many i-ajjids, and is therefore 
not easy to ascend. 

Miller, Glacier, Gold, Little Gold and Bedrock Creeks are all 
tributaries of Sixty Mile. Some of the richest discoveries in gold 
so far made in the interior since 1894 have been upon these 
creeks, especially has this been the case upon the two first men- 
tioned. There is a claim upon Miller Creek owned by Jose])h 
Boudreau from wliich over flOO.OOO woilh of gold is said to liavc 
been taken out. 

Freight for the mines is taken up Forty ]Mile Creek in summer 
for a distance of 30 miles, tlien portaged across to the heads of 
Miller and Glacier Creeks. In the winter it is haiUed in by dogs. 



KLONDYKE F.U7X 79 

Diuck* River of the Indians (Deer l^iver of Schwatka) 
enters from the east. It is a small river about forty yards 
wide at the mouth, and sliallow ; the water is clear and 
transparent, and of beautiful l)hu; eolor. The Indians 
eatcli great nunibers of salmon here. They had been fisli- 
ing shortly before my arrival, and the river, for aomo dis- 
tance up, Avas full of salmon traps. 

" A miner had prospected up this river for an estimated 
distance of forty miles, in the season of 188T. I did not 
see him, but got some of his information at second hand. 
The water being so beautifully clear I thought it must 
come through a large lake not far up ; but as far as he 
had gone no lakes were seen. He said the current was 
comparatively slack, with an occasional ' ripple ' or small 
rapid. Where he turned back the river is surrounded by 
high mountains, Mdiich were then covered Avith snoAV, 
which accounts for the purity and clearness of the water. 

The trip from Cudahj' to the jiost at tlie mouth of Sixty Mile 
River is made l)y ascending Forty ^lile River a small distance, mak- 
ing a short portage to Sixty Mile River and running down witli 
its swift current. Coming back on the Yukon, nearly the whole 
of the round trip is made down stream. 

Indian Creek enters the Yukon from the east about :}0 miles 
below Sixty Mile. It is reported to be rich in gold, but owing to 
to the scarcity of supplies its development has been retai'ded. 

At the mouth of Sixty Mile Creek a townsite of that name is 
located, it is the headquarters for upwards of 100 miners and 
where thej^ more or less assemble in the winter months. 

Messrs. Harper & Co. have a trading post and a saw-mil! on 
an island at the mouth of the creek, both of which are in charge 
of Mr. J. Ladue. one of the partners of the firm, and who was 
at one time in the emjiloy of the Alaska Commercial Com]iany. 

" Dawson City is situated at the mouth of the Thron-Diuck 
now known as Klondyke, and although it was located only a few 
months ago it is the scene of great activity. Very rich deposits 
of gold have been lately found on Bonanza Creek and other 
affluents of the Thron-Diuck. 



80 KLONDTKE FACTS. 

" It appears that the Indians go uj) this stream a long 
distance to hunt, but I could learn nothing definite as to 
their statements concerning it. 

'' Twelve and a half miles below Fort Reliance, the 
Chandindu Eiver, as named by Schwatka, enters from the 
east. It is thirty to forty yards wide at the mouth, very 
shallow, and for half a mile up is one continuous rapid. 
Its valley is wide and can be seen for a long distance look- 
ing north-eastward from the mouth. 

" Between Fort Reliance and Forty Mile River (called 
Cone Hill River by Schwatka) the Yukon assumes its nor- 
mal appearance, having fewer islands and being narrower, 
averaging four to six hundred yards wide, and the current 
being more regular. This stretch is forty-six miles long, 
but was estimated by the traders at forty, from which the 
Forty Mile River took its name. 

" Forty Mile River* joins the main river from the west. 
Its general course as far upas the International Boundary, 
a distance of twenty-three miles, is south-west ; after this 

* Forty Mile townsite is situated on the south side of the Forty 
Mile River at its junction with the Yukon. The Alaska Commer- 
cial Company has a station here which was for some years in 
charge of L. N. McQuestion ; there are also several blacksmith 
shops, restaurants, billiard halls, bakeries, an opera house and so 
on. Rather more than half a mile below Forty Mile townsite the 
town of Cudahy was founded on the noi'th side of Forty Mile 
River in the summer of 1892. It is named after a well known 
member of the North American Transportation and Trading Com- 
pany. In population and extent of business the town bears com- 
parison with its neighbor across the river. Tlie opposition in 
trade has been the means of very materially reducing the cost of 
supplies and living. The North American TransiDortation and 
Trading Company has erected a saw-mill and some large ware- 
houses. Fort Constantine was established here immediately upon 
the arrival of the Mounted Police detachment in the latter part of 
July, 1895. It is described further on in an extract from Inspector 
Constantine's supplementary report for the year 1895. 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 81 

it is reported by the minors to run nearer south. Many 
of them (-hiim to have ascended this stream for more than 
one hundred miles, and speak of it there as quite a hirge 
river. They say that at that distance it lias reached the 
level of the })lateau, and the country adjoining it they 
describe as flat and swampy, rising very little above tlie 
river. It is only a short distance across to the Tanana 
River — a large tributary of the Yukon — which is here de- 
scribed as an important stream. However, only aljout 
twenty-three miles of Forty Mile River are in Canada ; 
and the upper part of it and its relation to other rivers in 
the district have no direct interest for us. 

" Forty Mile River is one hundred to one hundred and 
fifty yards wide at the mouth, and the curreiit is generally 
strong, with many small rapids. Eight miles up is the 
so-called canon ; it is hardly entitled to that distinctive 
name, being simply a crooked contraction of the river, with 
steep rocky banks, and on the north side there is plenty of 
room to Avalk along the beach. At the lower end of the 
canon there is a short turn and swift water in which are 
some large rocks ; these cannot generally be seen, and there 
is much danger of striking them running down in a boat. 
At this point several miners have been drowned by their 
boats being upset in collision with these rocks. It is no 
great distance to either shore, and one would think an 
ordinary swimmer would have no difficulty in reaching 
land ; but the coldness of the water soon benumbs a man 
completely and renders him powerless. In the summer of 
1887, an Indian, from Tanana, with his family, was com- 
ing down to trade at the post at the mouth of Forty ]\[ilc 
River ; his canoe struck on these rocks and upset, and he 
was thrown clear of the canoe, but the woman and children 
clung to it. In the rough water he lost sight of them, and 
concluded that they were lost : it is said he deliberately 
drew his knife and cut his throat, thus perishing, while 
6 



82 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

his family were hauled ashore by some miners. The chief 
of the band to which. this Indian belonged came to the post 
and demanded pay for his loss, which he contended was 
occasioned by the traders having moved from Belle Isle to 
Forty Mile, thus causing them to descend this dangerous 
rapid, and there is little doubt that had there not been so 
many white men in the vicinity he would have tried to 
enforce his demand. 

" The length of the so-called canon is about a mile. 
Above it the river up to the boundary is generally smooth, 
with swift current and an occasional ripple. The amount 
of water discharged by this stream is considerable ; but 
there is no prospect of navigation, it being so swift and 
broken by small rapids. 

" From Forty Mile River to the boundary the Yukon 
preserves the same general character as between Fort Reli- 
ance and Forty Mile, the greatest Avidth being about half 
a mile and the least about a cpiarter. 

Fifteen miles below Forty Mile River a large mass of 
rock stands on the east bank. This was named by 
Schwatka ' Roquette Rock,' but is known to the traders 
as Old Woman Rock ; a similar mass, on the west side of 
the river, being known as Old Man Rock. 

'* The origin of these names is an Indian legend, of 
which the following is the version given to me by the 
traders : — 

" In remote ages there lived a powerful shaman, pro- 
nounced Tshaumen by the Indians, this being the local 
name for what is known as medicine man among the In- 
dians farther south and east. The Tshaumen holds a posi- 
tion and exercises an influence among the people he lives 
with, something akin_to the wise men or magi of olden times 
in the East. In this powerful being's locality there lived 
a poor man who had the great misfortune to have an invet- 
erate scold for a wife, lie bore the infliction for a long 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 83 

time without niunnuriiig, in hopes that she would relent, 
but time seemed only to increase the affliction ; at length, 
growing weaiv of the unceasing torment, he coniphiined 
to the Tshaunieii who comforted him, and sent him home 
with the assui-ance that all would soon be well. 

*' Shortly after this he went out to hunt, and remained 
away for many days eiideavoring to get some proA'isions 
for home use, but without avail ; he returned weary and 
hungry, only to be met by his wife with a more than 
usually violent outburst of scolding. This so provoked 
him that he gathered all his strength and energy for one 
grand elVurt and gave her a kick that sent her clean across 
the river. On landing she was converted into the mass of 
rock which remains to this day a memorial of her vicious- 
ness and a warning to all future scolds. The metamor- 
phosis was effected by the Tsluiumen. l)ut how the neces- 
sary force was acquired to send her across the river (here 
about half a mile wide), or whether the kick was adminis- 
tered by the Tshaumen or the husband, my narrator could 
not say. He was altogether at a loss t() account for con- 
version of the husband into the mass of rock on the west 
side of the river ; nor can I ott'er any theory unless it is 
that he was petrified by astonishment at the result. 

*' Such legends as this"woul(l be of interest to ethnologists 
if they could be procured direct fi-oiu the Indians, but 
repeated by men who have little or no knowledge of the 
utility of legendary lore, and less sympathy with it, they 
lose much of their value. 

" Between Forty Mile Iiiver and the boundary line no 
stream of any size joins the Yukon ; in fact, there is only 
one stream, which some of the miners have named Sheep 
Creek, but as there is another stream further down the 
river, called by the same name. I have named it Coal 
Creek. It is five miles below Forty Mile, and comes iu 
from the east, and is a large creek, but not at all navigable. 



84 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

On it some extensive coal seams were seen, which will be 
more fully referred to further on. 



"At the boundary the river is somewhat contracted, 
and measures only 1,280 feet across in the winter ; but in 
summer, at ordinary water level, it would be about one 
hundred feet wider. Immediately below the boundary it 
expands to its usual width, which is about 2,000 feet. 
The area of the cross section measured is 22,2(58 feet, the 
sectional area of the Teslintoo, as determined by Dr. 
Dawson and already referred to, is 3,809 feet ; that of the 
Lewes at the Teslintoo, from the same authority, is 3,015 
feet. Had the above cross-section been reduced to the 
level at which the water ordinarily stands during the sum- 
mer months, instead of to the height at which it stood in 
the .middle of September when it was almost at its lowest, 
the sectional area would have been at least 50 per cent 
more,and at spring flood level about double the above area. 

"It is a difficult matter to determine the actual discluu-ge 
at the place of the cross-section, owing to the irregularity 
in the depth and current, the latter being in the deep 
channel at the east side, when I tried it in September, 
approximately 4*8 miles per hour ; while on the bar in 
midstream it was not more than 2*5 miles per hour ; and 
between the bar and the westerly shore there was very 
little current. 

" The river above this for some miles was no better for 
the purpose of cross-section measurement. At the bound- 
ary it is narrow and clear of bars and islands for some 
miles, but here I did not have on opportunity to determine 
the rate of the current before the river froze uj), and 
after it froze the drift ice Avas jammed and piled so high 
that it Avould have been an almost endless task to cut hole* 
through it. 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 85 

The current from the boundary down to the confluence 
with the Porcupine is said to be strong and much the same 
as that above ; from the Porcupine down, for a distance 
of five or six hundred miles it is called medium and the 
remainder easy. 

From Stewart River to the mouth of the Yukon is about 
1,G50 miles, and the only difficult place in all this distance 
is the part near the confluence with the Porcupine, wliich 
has evidently been a lake in past ages but is now filled with 
islands ; it is said that the current here is swift, and tbe 
channels generally narrow, rendering navigation difficult. 



86 KLONDYKE FACTS. 



CHAPTEE III. 

ADVICE TO BEGINNERS. 

Men who are thinking of going to the Klondyke regions 
and taking a trip of tliis character for the first time^ Avill 
do well to carefully read the chapter on '' Outfit for 
Miners.^' It is a great mistake to take anything except 
what is necessary ; the trip is a long arduous one, and a 
man should not add one pound of baggage to his outfit that 
can be dispensed with. I have known men who have 
loaded themselves up with rifles, revolvers and shot-guns. 
This is entirely unnecessary. Kevolvers will get you into 
trouble, and there is no use of taking them with you, a3 
large game of any character is rarely found on the trip. I 
have prospected through this region for some years and 
have only seen one moose. You will not see any large 
game whatever on your trip from Juneau to Dawson City, 
therefore do not take any firearms along. 

You will find a list of the implements for the miner in 
the chapter on '' Outfit for Miners.^' 

The miners here are a very mixed class of people. They 
represent many nationalities and come from all climates. 
Their lives are certainly not enviable. 

The regulation miner's cabin is 12 by 14 with walls six 
feet high and gables eight feet in height. The roof is 
heavily earthed and the cabin is generally kept very warm. 
Two, or sometimes three or four men will live in a house of 
this size. The ventilation is usually bad, the Avindows 



KLOXDYKE FACTS. 87 

being very small. Those miners who do not work their 
claims during the winter confine themselves to these small 
huts most of the time. Very often they become indolent 
and careless, only eating those things which are most easily 
cooked or prepared. During the busy time in summer 
when they are shovelling in, they work hard and for long 
hours, sparing little time for eating and much less for 
cooking. 

This manner of living is quite common amongst begin- 
ners, and soon leads to debility and sometimes to scurvy. 
Old miners have learned from experience to value health 
more than gold, and they therefore spare no expense in 
procuring the best and most varied outfit of food that can 
be obtained. 

In a cold climate such as this, where it is imi^ossible to 
get fresh vegetables and fruits, it is most important that 
the best substitutes for these should be provided. Nature 
helps to supply these wants by growing cranberries and 
other wild fruits in abundance, but men in summer are 
usually too busy to avail themselves of these. 

The diseases met with in this country are dysjiepsia, 
ana?mia, scurvy caused by improperly cooked food, same- 
ness of diet, overwork, want of fresh vegetables, overheated 
and badly ventilated houses ; rheumatism, pneumonia, 
bronchitis, enteritis, cystitis and other acute diseases, from 
exposure to wet and cold ; debility and chronic diseases, 
due to excesses. 

Men coming to Klondyke should be sober, strong and 
healthy. They should be practical men, able to adapt 
themselves quickly to their surroundings. Special care 
should be taken to see that their lungs are sound, that 
they are free from rheumatism and rheumatic tendency, 
and that their joints, especially knee joints, are strong and 
have never been weakened by injury, synovitis or other 
disease. It is also very important to consider their tern- 



88 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

peraments. Men sliould be of cheerful, hopeful disposi- 
tions and willing workers. Those of sullen, morose na- 
tures, although they may be good workers, are very apt, 
as soon as the novelty of the country wears off, to become 
dissatisfied, pessimistic and melancholy. 



ELONDYKE FACTS. 89 



CHAPTEE IV. 

OUTFIT FOR MINERS. 

In giving any advice for outfits for miners, I should first 
state that it is a great mistake to purchase anything what- 
ever before arriving at Juneau, Alaska. This has been a 
supply point for that region for u^^wards of ten years, and 
store-keepers and sujiply companies carry in stock ex- 
actly what is necessary for the miners. You will find that 
their prices are reasonable, considering the difference in 
cost of transportation at any point you might decide to 
purchase from in the United States ; in fact it is the saving 
of money to buy in Juneau. 

In the matter of clothing, of course, it must be left to 
the individual taste and means of the purchaser, but the 
miners usually adopt the native costume of the region. 
The boots are generally made by the coast Indians and are 
of different varieties. The water boot is made of seal and 
walrus. It is important to take a pair of rubber boots 
along. Additional boots can be purchased at Dawson 
City. Tlie native boots cost from two to five dollars a pair. 
Trousers are generally made from Siberian fawn skins and 
the skin of the marmot or the ground squirrel. The outer 
garments are generally made of the marmot skin. The 
people at Dawson City who are not engaged in mining, 
such as store-keejiers, clerks, etc., generally wear these 
garments. Good warm flannels are important. Every- 
thing in the way of underwear is made of flannel, such as 
shirts. The cost of flannel shirts at Dawson City is $5. Hub- 



90 KLONBYKE FACTS. 

ber boots at Dawson City are ^10 to $13.00 a pair, Blankets 
and robes are used for bedding, and should be purchased 
at Juneau. Wolf skins make the best robes. Good ones 
cost 1100 apiece, but cheaper ones can be obtained from 
the bear, mink, and red fox and Arctic Hare. Warm 
socks are made from the skin of the Arctic Hare. 

If you have any delay at Juneau, you will, probably, 
be asked to take trips to the Giant Glaciers, but my ad- 
vice is to stay in Juneau until the steamer is ready to start 
for Dyea. You will need all the rest you can get before 
starting up the Pass. 

In the matter of provisions, the following is a list which 
is considered sufficient to last a man on his trip from 
Juneau to Dawson City : — 

20 pounds of flour, 
12 pounds of bacon, 
12 '^ " beans, 

4: " " butter, 

5 " " vegetables, 

4 cans of condensed milk, 

5 pounds of sugar, 
1 pound of tea, 

3 pounds of cofi^ee, 
1 1-2 pound of salt, 
5 pounds of corn meal, 
A small portion of pepper and mustard. 

The following utensils should be taken : — 

1 frying pan, 
1 water kettle, 
1 Yukon stove, 

1 bean pot, 

2 plates. 



KLOyDYKE FACTS. 91 

1 tin drinking cup, 

1 tea pot, 

1 knife and fork, 

1 large and 1 small cooking pan. 

The following tools should be brought as part of the out- 
fit : — These will be found absolutely necessary to build a 
boat at Lake Lindeman : — 

1 jack plane, 
1 whip saw, 
1 cross-cut saw, 
1 axe, 
1 hatchet, 
1 hunting-knife. 
6 pounds of assorted nails, 
1 pound of oakum, 
5 pounds of pitch, 
150 feet of rope, 
1 Juneau sled. 

It is also necessary to have one good duck tent and a 
rubber blanket. 

A good piece of mosquito netting will not be heavy and 
will also be very great comfort on the triji. 

Do not forget to put in a good supply of matches, and 
take a small supply of fishing tackle, hooks, etc. 

It is very important that you have a jmir of snow glasses 
to guard against snow blindness. 

It will be interesting to know the prices at Dawson City 
for supplies : 

When I left in June, 1897. 
Flour was sold in 50 pound bags at $6.00 a bag. 
Fresh beef was supplied at 50 cents a pound. 
Bacon was 40 cents. 



92 KLONDYEE FACTS. 

Coffee was 50 cents per pound. 

Brown sugar was 20 cents per pound and granulated 
sugar was 25 cents a pound. 

Condensed milk was 50 cents per can. 

Pick axes were $G.00 each. 

Miners' shovels were 12.00 each. 

Lumber right at Dawson City was 1130.00 per thousand 
feet undressed, and 1150.00 per thousand feet dressed. 

It is well perhaps to advise the traveller to supply him- 
self with a small medicine box Avhich can be purchased in 
Juneau, but it is not necessary if he enjoys good rugged 
health. 

On arriving at Dawson City, luxuries will be found to be 
very high ; what is to be considered a very cheaiD cigar in 
the United States, two for 5 cents, sells in Dawson City 
at 50 cents each. 

Liquors command very high prices. Whisky sells in 
the saloons for 50 cents a glass, and fluctuates from $15.00 
to $25.00 per gallon, according to the supplies received 
from the at present overtaxed transportation companies. 
There was about 12,000 gallons of whisky imported into 
the territory from Canada the past year. Smoking tobacco 
was selling at $1.50 a pound and good plug cut and fancy 
tobacco was selling at $2.00 a pound. 

The demand for medicine is very light, but the local 
traders carry a small stock of jiatent and proprietary 
medicines. 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 93 



CHAPTER V. 

HOW TO STAKE OUT A MINING CLAIM. 

The method of locating a claim is essentially simple. 
It is peculiar to the Klondyke region because of the to- 
pography of the country, I refer of course to the clain.s 
staked out for placer mining, as up to this date this is tie 
only mining attempted here. Throughout this section are 
numerous small streams or creeks, running through nar- 
row valleys between the foot-hills. The prospective miner 
determines on which stream to hunt for the precious metal, 
and having made a "find" he stakes out his claim in the 
following manner : 

In staking the claim the prospector must not exceed 
500 feet up and down the creek, the general course of the 
valley. The width of the claim can run from base to base 
of the hills or mountains. If there are no claims located 
on this particular stream, the claim is known as the "dis- 
covery claim" and the stakes used are marked 0. The next 
claim staked as you proceed i(p the creek is marked No. 1, 
as is the next claim going doivti the stream. There can be 
but two claims marked 1 on any one stream. The 4 stakes 
being driven and each marked with your own initials, and 
the letters M. L. (meaning mining location), you must 
bound your claim with cross or end lines, and tlien proceed 
witliin sixty days, to file the claim with the governmerit's 
recorder at Dawson City. The recorder at present is also 
the gold commissioner. In recording, affidavits must be 
made that the claim is properly staked, and date given, and 



94 KLONDYK'E FACTS. 

gold been found. The number of claim must also be given, 
and if it is not the discovery claim it must be mentioned as 
for instance, No. 1 or No. 10 above or below "discovery 
claim," as the case may be. If a claim should be staked be- 
fore gold is discovered thereon, the prospector has sixty days 
in which to prosecute the search for gold. If when this 
time has expired he is yet unsuccessful, he can no longer 
hold this claim, as the finding of the metal is absolutely 
necessary to the permanent holding of the claim. 

The method for staking a quartz claim is similar. Here 
you lay out a claim 1500 feet long by 600 feet wide. The 
stakes are marked as in placer claims and the same rules 
govern in regard to finding of gold and filing the claims. 
The miner having filed his claim, it is necessary that he work 
the claim three consecutive months each year. These re- 
quirements though simple are imperatively necessary for 
the protection of the miner, for should a miner attempt to 
work a claim without first properly staking and recording 
the same, any one could come in, work on the property, 
properly stake and hold the claim, and so compel the first 
man to leave. A prospector can file but one claim. Others 
he may acquire must be by purchase and the bill of sale 
properly recorded at time of transfer. Should he abandon 
a claim he can of course locate another. 



ELONDYKE FACTS. 95 



CHAPTER VI. 

PLACER MIJSriNG. 

Mining operations are thus far altogether placer min- 
ing, for the reason that the first discovery was of that na- 
ture and because no machinery was required. In fact no 
machinery was immediately accessible, there being none 
in the territory. Placer mining is the crudest and most 
primitive kind of mining and the cheapest to operate. 
As conducted at Dawson City it consists simply in sink- 
ing a shaft to bed rock and then tunnelling in various di- 
rections. The ground is always frozen solid in winter, 
and in summer below a depth of two feet, and there is no 
need of slioring as there is no danger of its caving. These 
conditions are peculiar to this interesting region, and in 
no other part of the world can shafts be sunk and tunnels 
made without great expense and loss of time in timbering 
and shoring, besides the loss of pay dirt in leaving columns 
standing, as is necessary anywhere else. 

The pay dirt is taken out by a small Avindlass worked by 
hand and is simply thrown into a heap where it remains 
until spring, when it is washed out. 

The depth necessary to go to reach bed rock — and it is 
always profitable to go to bed rock — varies from four to 
twenty feet. 

The gold is found in nuggets, grains and dust. The 
largest nugget found in tlie mines first discovered weighed 
forty ounces and was worth perhaps five hundred dollars. 



9G ELONDYKE FACTS. 

and from that size they run down to small grains of pure 
gold. Nuggets weighing several ounces are quite common. 

I know of but one quartz mine located and staked thus 
far in the Klondyke region, but there are undoubtedly 
many and rich quartz mines in this section that will be lo- 
cated and staked in the near future when machinery can 
be brought in. 

In placer mining the bed rock is often seamy and the 
gold is lodged in the seams and crevices. When these 
conditions exist the miners dig up the bed rock often to 
the depth of four feet and the richest finds have been 
taken in that way. In fact the methods of placer mining 
are peculiar to this strange and marvellously rich mineral 
country. The same methods and conditions do not exist 
anywhere else in the known world. 

As I have said above^ the jjay dirt, when hoisted to the 
surface, is thrown into a pile and alloAved to remain until 
spring, when it is washed. The cost of lumber for sluice 
boxes, etc., is at this writing 1130, and for planed lumber 
1150 per thousand feet. 

As very few outside of mining communities understand 
anything of the nomenclature of the craft, or of the 
methods employed to separate the very small quantities of 
the precious metal from the baser material with which it 
is associated, a short description will not be out of place. 

When a miner '^ strikes "a bar he ^^ prospects" it by 
washing a few panfuls of the gravel or sand of which it 
is composed. According to the number of "'colors " he 
finds to the pan, that is, the number of specks of gold he 
can see in his pan after all the dirt has been washed out, 
he judges of its richness. Many of them have had so much 
experience that they can tell in a few minutes, very nearly, 
how much a bar will yield per day to the man. 

The process of "placer" mining is about as follows: 





THE^PLACER MINER'S TOOLS 



I 

I 



KL Oy D YKE FA CTS. 97 

After clearing all the coarse gravel and stone olT a patch 
of ground, the miner lifts a little of the liner gravel or 
sand in his pan, whicli is a hroad, sliallow dish, made of 
strong sheet iron ; he then puts in water enough to fill the 
pan, and gives it a few rapid whirls and shakes ; this tends 
to bring the gold to the bottom on account of its greater 
specific gravity. The dish is then shaken and held in 
such a way that the gravel and sand are gradually washed 
out, care being taken as the process nears completion to 
avoid letting out the finer and heavier parts that have 
settled to the bottom. Finally all that is left in the pan 
is whatever gold may have been in the dish and some black 
sand which almost invariably accompanies it. 

This black sand is nothing but pulverized magnetic iron 
ore. Should the gold thus found be fine, the contents of 
the pan are thrown into a barrel containing water and a 
pound or two of mercury. As soon as the gold comes in 
contact with the mercury it combines with it and forms an 
amalgam. The i^rocess is continued until enough amal- 
gam has been formed to pay for "roasting" or "firing.* 

It is then squeezed through a buckskin bag, all the 
mercury that comes through the bag being put back into 
the barrel to serve again, and what remains in the bag is 
placed in a retort, if the miner has one, or, if not, on a 
shovel, and heated until nearly all the mercury is vaporized. 
The gold then remains in a lump with some mercury still 
held in combination with it. 

This is called the "pan "or " hand " method, and is 
never, on account of its slowness and laboriousness, 
continued for any length of time when it is possible to 
procure a " rocker " or to make and work sluices. 

A "rocker" is simply a box about three feet long and 
two wide, made in two parts, the top part being shallow, 
with a heavy sheet iron bottom, which is punched full 
7 



98 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

of quarter-inch holes. The other part of the box is fitted 
with an inclined shelf about midway in its depth, which 
is six or eight inches lower at its lower end than at its upper. 
Over this is placed a piece of heavy woollen blanket. 
The whole is then mounted on two rockers, much resem- 
bling those of an ordinary cradle, and when in use they are 
placed on two blocks of wood so that the whole may be 
readily rocked. After the miner has selected his claim, 
he looks for the most convenient place to set up his 
" rocker," which must be near a good supply of water. 
Then he proceeds to clear away all the stones and coarse 
gravel, gathering the finer gravel and sand in a heap near 
the " rocker." The shallow box on toj) is filled with this, 
and with one hand the miner rocks it, while Avith the 
other he ladles in water. The finer matter with the 
gold falls through the holes on to the blanket, which 
checks its progress, and holds the fine particles of gold, 
while the sand and other matter pass over it to the bottom 
of the box, which is sloped so that what comes through is 
washed downwards and finally out of the box. Across the 
bottom of the box are fixed thin slats, behind which some 
mercury is j^laced to catch any particles of gold which 
may escape the blanket. If tbe gold is nuggety, the 
large nuggets are found in the upper box, their weight 
detaining them until all the lighter stuff has passed 
through, and the smaller ones are held by a deeper 
slat at the outward end of the bottom of the box. The 
piece of blanket is, at intervals, taken out and rinsed 
into a barrel ; if the gold is fine, mercury is placed at the 
bottom of the barrel, as already mentioned. 

Sluicing is always employed Avhen possible. It requires 
a good supply of water with suflicient head or falls. The 
process is as follows : Planks are procured and formed 
into a box of suitable width and depth. Slats are fixed 



KLONDYKE FACTS, 99 

across the bottom of the box iit suitiible intervals, or shallow 
holes bored in the bottom in such order that no particle 
could run along the bottom in a straight line and escape 
without running over a hole. Several of these boxes are 
then set up Avith a considerable slope and are fitted into 
one another as the ends like a stove-pijie. A stream of 
water is now directed into the upper end of the highest 
box. The gravel having been collected, as in the case of 
the rocker, it is shovelled into the upper box and is washed 
downwards by the strong current of Avater. The gold is 
detained by its weight, and is held by the slats or in the 
holes mentioned ; if it is fine, mercury is placed behind 
the slats or in these holes to catch it. In this way about 
three times as much dirt can be washed as by the rocker, 
and consequently three times as much gold is secured in a 
given time. After the boxes are done with they are 
burned, and the ashes washed for the gold held in the 
wood. * 

* A great many of the miners spend their time in the summer 
prospecting and in the winter resort to a method lately adopted 
and wliicli is called " burning." They make fires on the surface 
thus thawing the gound until the bed rock is reached, then drift 
and tunnel ; the pay dirt is brought to the surface and lieaped in 
a pile until spring when water can be obtained. The sluice boxes 
are then set up and the dirt is washed out, thus enabling the 
miner to work advantageously and profitably the year round. 
This method has been found verj^ satisfactory in places where the 
pay streak is at any great depth from the surface. In this way 
the complaint is overcome v.hichhas been so commonly advanced 
by miners and others that in the Yvikon several months of the 
year are lost in idleness. Winter usually sets in A'eiy soon after 
the middle of September and continues until the beginning of 
Jime and is decidedly cold. The mercury frequently falls to 60 
degrees below zero, but in the interior there is so little humidity 
in the atmosphere that the cold is more easily endured then on the 
coast. In the absence of thermometers, miners, it is said, leave 



100 . KLONDYKE FACTS. 

their mercury out all night : when they find it frozen solid in the 
morning they conclude that it is too cold to work and stay at 
home. The temperature runs to great extremes in summer as 
■well as in the winter ; it is quite a common thing for the ther- 
mometers to register 100 degrees in the shade. 



KLOSDYKE FACTS. 101 



CHAPTER YII. 



MINING LAW AXD ORDER 



The reader of course understands that Alaska and the 
Xorthwest Territory are adjacent. I confine m3'self al- 
most altogetlier to the Klondyke region, because by far the 
richest finds are there, and are therefore most interesting to 
the reader. As the Klondyke is in Canadian Territory it 
is of course governed by Canadian laws. 

Probably in no other mining camp is so good order main- 
tained, such respect for the life, property and the rights 
of others, as in the Klondyke region. So far, notwith- 
standing the mad rush to locate claims and the apparently 
fabulous richness of those claims, no murder has been com- 
mitted and no theft reported. The disorder, confusion 
and disregard of life and the rights of others that exists 
in many other mining camps, where might usurps the place 
of right, finds no place in the Klondyke. But one at- 
tempt has been made to jump a claim and that num has 
regretted his error ever since and has become a good, law- 
abiding citizen. He was punished by being black-listed 
by the gold commissioner at Dawson City. This prohibits 
him from ever after locating or filing a claim in the entire 
Xorthwest Territory. The most severe and, under the 
circumstances, fearful iicualty that could be imposed, for 



102 KLONBYKE FACTS. 

no matter how rich a find he may make he can never 
claim it. 

It will be many a long clay indeed with this example as a 
warning, before the offence Avill be repeated in this terri- 
tory. There was one other case where a man had a friend 
take out a claim for him, and prior to the sixty-day limit 
this friend took an affidavit that he had located the claim 
himself and found gold, thus attempting to register the 
claim as his own. Tlie fraud was, however, discovered and 
the claim registered in tlie name of the rightful owner. 
The perpetrator of the attempted fraud was black-listed 
and prohibited forever from locating or filing a claim in 
the Northwest Territory. A frightful punishment indeed ! 
These two are the only cases thus far, of attempted frauds 
in this resj^ect. The region is j)atrolled by the Northwest 
Mounted Police, under Captain Constantino, and the force 
is ample to protect all in tlieir rights, and render life rea- 
sonably secure. Offenders are promptly arrested and as 
promptly punished. 

Mounted Police posts are rapidly being established at reg- 
ular intervals, so that the entire country will be thoroughly 
patrolled. As another instance of the severe penalties im- 
posed for violations of the mining laws, and rights of min- 
ers, I may mention that if any person destroys or ])\\\\s 
the stakes, or in any manner defaces or mutilates the 
boundaries of a claim, the penalty is seven years' impris- 
onment. 

There is a magistrate at Dawson City. Offenders are 
arrested, taken before him aiid given a fair trial. There 
are no miners' meetings permitted, as has been the case in 
other mining camps in the past, where lynch law 23revailed, 
and great injustice was often done. All disputes must be 
passed upon by tlio gold commissioner appointed by the 
Canadian Government^ so none need fear going to the 



KLONDTKE FACTS. 103 

Klonclyke because of the instability of law and order, and 
though of course while human nature remains as it is no 
Garden of Eden is possible, you are as safe in the Klondyke 
as elsewhere. 

A large proportion of the population thus far — and so it 
will undoubtedly continue — is the very best element to be 
found in any region. Merchants, bankers, lawyers and 
other professional men are there in large numbers. It is for 
this reason that the community is so quiet and law and 
order so successfully maintained. For, after all, on the char- 
acter of its citizens is the law and order of any community 
dependent. 

I strongly advise all intending settlers to leave behind all 
firearms, as there is no necessity for them. Those who 
brought them have no use for them and are endeavoring 
to dispose of them. Rifles and shotguns are heavy and add 
needless weight to the outfit. Xo dependence can be 
placed on finding of game. In the past two years in my 
journeyings over these ranges I have seen but one moose, 
hence you will see the uselessness of rifles as an aid of j)ro- 
curing food, as dependence must be placed entirely uj)on 
provisions. These, I think, are strong reasons why rifles 
and shotguns should not he carried, and I Avould go farther 
and advise that even revolvers be not carried, as they are 
more apt to got you into trouble than any good they may 
do. In all my fifteen years' experience in this region I have 
rarely carried even a revolver, and have finally found it so 
unnecessary as to dispense with it entirely. As my neigh- 
bors concur in my opinion on this subject, the miner so 
familiar to the Calif ornians in ' 49, filled with profanity 
and armed to the teeth, is an unknown quantity in Klon- 
dyke. At a conference of cabinet ministers held at Dawson 
City, July 23d, 1897, the question discussed was the customs 
aspect of the Yukon question. A special customs officer 



104 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

was appointed for the Yukon district and two customs offi- 
cers appointed for the White and Dyea passes^, so that all 
goods going in not bought in Canada markets will have 
to pay full customs dues. 

In view of the fact that the mining operations on United 
States soil are already quite extensive and quite sure to in- 
crease, I append the following despatch from Washington 
under date of July 2G, 1897, to show that law and order 
will be maintained on both sides of the boundary line be- 
tween the two countries. 



Washington, July 26. 

The President and Secretary Alger have decided to de- 
tail an army officer and a company of soldiers from the 
regular army for service in Alaska. The matter is yet in 
very indefinite shape, but details will be arranged as soon 
as possible in order that the soldiers may get into the 
vicinity of the gold country before navigation closes on 
the Yukon River. They will be sent to their destination 
via the Yukon River route, and the offer of one of the 
shipping companies on the Pacific coast to transport the 
men and their baggage and stores will probably be accepted. 

The exact location of the camp post has not yet been 
determined on, but it is expected to be at Circle City. An 
army officer now in the field who has had experience in 
such matters has been invited to take charge of the com- 
pany, and an answer is expected from him very soon. The 
detail of men who will go will be made from one of 
the posts in the West, but just which one is not yet finally 
settled on. The officials are anxious to locate the soldiers 
in the gold country as soon as possible, and if it can be 



KLOXDVKE FACTS. 105 

arranged the}- Avill be sent on tlic steamer sailing early in 
August. 

In view of the recent rush of travel to the Klondyke 
gold fields. Secretary of the Treasury Gage has established 
a sub-port of entry at Dyea, Alaska. The action was taken 
as the result of an application to the Treasury Department 
by Canada for permission for Canadian vessels to enter 
at Dyea, Alaska, and land passengers and baggage there. 
Dyea is about fifty miles north of Juneau, and it was de- 
sired to save passengers the annoyance of disembarking at 
Juneau and awaiting another steamer for Dyea, the head 
of navigation on this route to the Yukon frontier. 



Otfmoa, July 24. 

Hon. W. Paterson has been informed, in reply to his 
request that Dyea be made a customs post by the American 
Government, that such has been done. 

It is also agreed to send a man with the goods over the 
summit where the fees could be collected at the first post 
in Avhat is acknowledged to be Canadian territory. It may 
be that the Canadian Customs will place their officer at 
Dyea, when the fees could be paid there. Two officers 
will be sent up from Victoria, one for each of those Passes 
which are most utilized by parties sending goods into the 
Yukon — the AVhite and the Dyea. 



RATE OF TAX. 

Toronto, July 28. 

The Globe's Ottawa special says : '^At a Cabinet Council 
yesterday the Yukon was again under consideration, and 



106 KLONDTKE FACTS. 

it was decided that the royalty to be levied on the gold 
taken out of that country would be 10 per cent, on all 
amounts taken out of any one claim up to 1500 a week, 
and after that 20 per cent. And in addition it must be 
remembered that every alternate claim is to be reserved by 
the Government for the benefit of the public revenue. 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 107 



CHAPTER VIII. 



MINING K E T U K N S. 



In the Klonclyke section, from January to April 1st, 
1897, altliough there were only four hundred and fifty 
miners, there was taken out in this section alone about 
14,000,000, about half of this being retained in the coun- 
try, and used for purchasing fi-esh supplies, buying claims, 
or shares in claims, and in other investments. 

The balance was shipped to San Francisco, being con- 
signed either to the Government Mint or to Selby's Smelt- 
ing Works, the transportation companies giving the miner 
a receipt for it, and charging him about two and a half 
per cent., which includes all insurance, and guaranteeing 
safe delivery to its destination. 

Selby's Smelting Works at San Francisco would seem to 
be the best place as tlieir charge is a trifle less than at the 
Government Mint. At the mint and the smelting works 
the gold is placed to the credit of the miner, where he can 
obtain the money, or it is subject to a sight draft. 

As already stated, al)out two millions were retained in 
the country for investment, and many claims changed 
hands, as high as $60,000 or $100,000 being paid for a 
single claim of 500 feet. 

The gold dust is valued at about $17 an ounce, Troy 
weight being used in measurement. The principal cur- 



108 KLONBYKE FACTS. 

reiicy at Dawson City, however, is gold dust, which is 
accepted for everything. Any kind of currency, however, 
is accepted there. 

What we know as Klondyke is known there as The Bo- 
nanza Mining District, and the Hunker's Mining District. 
I have asked miners who have been in Australia and Cali- 
fornia, and they say they have never seen anything like 
the rich returns found in the Klondyke section. I have 
asked miners how they were panning out on their claim, 
and have often had the reply, "I think I am ofE the pay 
strike, as I am only panning out $30 or $40 to the pan," 
— a phenomenal return in any other region than Klondyke. 
One week miners were getting $300 to the pan, the next 
week they might only get $15, $30, or $30, but they 
always get something. 

As long ago as 1885 some profitable mining was done in 
this section, and on this j^oint I quote Mr. Ogilvie. " The 
Stewart River was pretty Avell worked for the seasons of 
1885-86 by about forty men, some of whom made at least 
$5,000 Assuming they averaged one-half that sum, we 
have $100,000 as their earnings. Forty Mile River, the 
only other stream from which any large quantity has been 
taken, was worked in the summer of 1887 by about three 
hundred men, many of whom spent only a few weeks on 
the river, some only a few days. The statement made by 
those of whom I inquired, was, that all who worked on the 
river for any length of time made a ' grub stake.' Put- 
ting this at the lowest value I placed on it, $450^ and 
assuming that two hundred and fifty men made each this 
sum, we have $112,500 as the amount taken out on this 
stream. I have heard the amount placed at $130,000. 
All the gold taken from the other streams by jDrospectors 
would not amount to more than a few thousand dollars, so 
that it is probable the total amount taken out of the whole 



KLOyDYKE FACTS. 109 

district is in the vicinity of a quarter of a million dollars, 
of which about half was taken out in our territory. 

" I learned that the prevailing high water interfered \cy 
much with the success of the miners in the season of '88, 
and that many of them left the country in the fall. It is 
probable, however, that a few will remain prospecting till 
something rich is found." 

The above quotation from Mr. Ogilvie's report for that 
period reads very strange in view of the rich strikes made 
recently, 



110 KLONBYKE FACTS. 



CHAPTER IX. 

GAME, AGRICULTUEE AND TIMBER. 

The supply of large game is very limited indeed. Very 
lengthy trips have been taken for hunting purposes. There 
are many fur-bearing animals, which include the black 
fox, bear, otter and mink. The fur of the black fox is 
specially valuable. 

When I was in the fur-trading business I sold a black 
fox skin for 1350. There is considerable small game, and 
rabbits are very plentiful, also geese, ducks and river- 
birds. The moose, caribou, musk-ox abound very much 
inward and toward the McKenzie Basin. 

Horses and cattle are now being constantly shipped from 
Seattle, to be driven over the Taiya to- Ohicat pass. They 
are fed on " bunch grass." This grass is very nutritious 
and grown extensively. I have seen beef fattened better 
on it than on the farms in Northern New York. There 
are vast plains covered with what is called " bunch grass," 
and it is good fodder for horses and cattle. 

Small timber is quite plentiful, such as spruce, etc., 
but large timber is scarce. I have often been asked how 
trees grow in soil that is frozen the year round. The roots 
spread out near the surface, adapting themselves to the 
climate. The large roots — tap roots — are wanting. I cut 
a large birch tree on one of the islands which abound in 



KLONDYKE FACTS. HI 

the Yukon and found the roots in this condition, spread 
out flat, growing near the surface, and there were two or 
three sets of roots, one above tlie other, the lower ones 
partially decayed, owing to the large amount of sediment 
that is deposited during high water in succeeding seasons. 

Fishing is good in the Yukon River and its tributaries. 
Salmon is very ijlentiful and this is the season that they 
are running. Grayling, lake trout and small fish are 
easily caught in the streams. Farm vegetables are hard 
to raise, but not much time is spent, still there are small 
farms and gardens on the small islands and garden truck 
is raised from the lotli of May to the 15th of September, 
but the two large trading companies at Dawson City carry 
a large stock of supplies for all the needs of the com- 
munity. 

The following, on the agricultural capabilities of the 
Yukon Basin reported by Mr. Ogilvic will be interesting. 

" The agricultural caj^jabilities of the country along the 
river are not great, nor is the land which can be seen from 
the river of good quality. 

" When we consider further the unsuitable climatic condi- 
tions which prevail in the region, it may be said that as 
an agricultural district this portion of tlie country will 
never be of value. 

" My meteorological records show over eight degrees of 
frost on the 1st of August, over ten on the 3d, and four 
times during the month the minimum temperature was 
below freezing. On the loth September the minimum 
temperature was 1G°, and all the mininuim readings for 
the remainder of the month were below freezing. 

"Along the east side of Lake Ijcimet, opposite the Chil- 
koot or western arm, there are some flats of dry gravelly soil, 
which would make a few farms of limited extent. On the 
west side, around the mouth of Wheaton River, there is an 



112 KLOyDYKE FACTS. 

extensive flat of sand and gravel, covered with small pine 
and spruce of stunted growth. The vegetation is poor and 
sparse, not at all what one would desire to see on a place 
upon which he was thinking of settling. At the lower end 
of the lake there is another extensive flat of sandy soil, 
thinly clad with small poplars and pines. The same re- 
marks apply to this flat as to that at Wheaton Eiver. 

" Along the westerly shore of Tagisli Lake there is a large 
extent of low, swampy flats, a part of which might he used 
for the production of such roots and cereals as the climate 
would permit. Along the west side of Marsh Lake there 
is also much flat surface of the same general character, on 
which I saw some coarse grass which would serve as food 
for cattle. Along the east side the surface appeared higher 
and terraced, and is probably less suited to the require- 
ments of the agriculturalist. Along the head of the river, 
for some miles below Marsh Lake, there are flats on both 
sides, which would, as far as surface conformation goes, 
serve for farms. The soil is of much better quality than 
any heretofore seen, as is proved by the larger and thicker 
growth of timber and underbrush which it sujjports. The 
soil bears less the character of detritus, and more that of 
alluvium, than that seen above. 

'' As Ave approach the canon the banks become higher and 
the bottom lands narrower, with some escarj)ments along 
the river. At the canon the bank on the west side rises 
two hundred feet and upwards above the river, and the 
soil is light and sandy. On the east side the bank is not 
so high, but the soil is of the same character, and the tim- 
ber small and poor, being nearly all stunted pine. 

"^Between the canon and Lake Labarge, as far as seen 
from the river, there is not much land of value. Tlie 
banks are generally high, and the soil light and sandy. 
At the head of the lake there is an extensive flat, partly 



KLOyDYKE FACTS. 113 

covered witli timber, iiiiieh hirgor unci better than any seen 
above this jjoint. Poplar eiglit and ten inches in diameter 
were not nncornnion, and some spruce of fifteen and six- 
teen inches, and many of upwards of a foot in diameter, 
were also noticed. The soil, liowever, is light, and the 
vegetation, especially the grass, thin and poor. 

Some miles down the lake an extensive valley Joins that 
of the lake on the west side. This valley contains a small 
stream. Around this place there is some land that might 
be useful, as the grass and vegetation is much better than 
any seen so far. 

On the lower end of the lake, on the west side, there is 
also a considerable plain which might be utilized ; the soil 
in parts of it is good. I saw one part where the timber 
had been burned some time ago ; here, both the soil and 
vegetation were good, and two or three of the plants seen 
are common in this part of Ontario, but they had not the 
vigorous appearance which the same plants have here. 

Northward from the end of the lake there is a deep, 
wide valley, which Dr. Dawson has named 'Ogilvie Valley.' 
In this the mixed timber, poplar and spruce, is of a size 
which betokens a fair soil ; the herbage, too, is more than 
usually rich for this region. This valley is extensive, and, 
if ever required as an aid in the sustenance of our people, 
will figure largely in the district's agricultural assets. 

Below the lake the valley of the river is not as a rule 
wide, and the Ijanks are often steep and high. There are, 
liowever, many flats of moderate extent along the river, 
and at its confluence with other streams. The soil of many 
of these is fair. 

xVbout forty miles above the mouth of the Pelly River 

there is an extensive flat on both sides of the Lewes. The 

soil here is poor and sandy, with small open timber. At 

Pelly River, there is a flat of considerable extent on which 

8 



114 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

the ruins of Fort Selkirk stand. It is covered with a small 
growth of poplar and a few spruce. The soil is a gravelly 
loam of about eight inches in depth, the subsoil being 
gravel, evidently detritus. This flat extends up the river 
for some miles, but is all covered thickly Avitli timber, 
except a small piece around the site of the fort. 

On the east side of the river there is also a large plateau, 
but it is two or three hundred feet above the river, and 
the soil appears to be poor, judging from the thinness and 
smallness of the trees. This plateau seems to extend up 
the Pelly for some distance, and down the Yukon for ten 
or twelve miles. As seen from the river, it reminds one 
of the slopes and hills around Kamloops in British Colum- 
bia, and like them, though not well suited to agriculture, 
might yield fair pasturage should such ever be required. 

A serious objection to it, however, for that purpose, if 
it is not watered on the surface by ponds, is tliat the river 
is difficult of access, as the plateau on the side towards the 
river is bounded by a perpendicular basalt cliff, which, 
without artificial arrangement, Avould completely bar ap- 
proach to the water. This cliff is more than two hundred 
feet high at the confluence, and becomes lower as we 
descend the river, until, at the lower end, it is not more 
than sixty to eighty feet high. 

Between Pelly and White Rivers there are no flats of any 
extent. At "White River there is a flat of several thou- 
sand acres, but it is. all timbered, and the surface of the 
soil is covered with a thick growth of moss, which prevents 
the frost ever leaving the ground. This has so preserved 
fallen timber and the foliage of the trees that much of it 
is lying on the surface nearly as sound as when it fell. On 
this account the vegetable mould on the gravel is thin and 
poor. The standing tinil)er also bears witness to the cold- 
ness of the soil by its slow and generally small growth. A 



KL OND YKE FA CTS. - 115 

few trees near the bank, where the sun can heat tlie soil, 
are of fair size, but further back they are generally small. 

At Stewart River there is another large flat to which the 
same general remarks are applicable. Thence, to the site 
at Fort Reliance, thei-e are no flats of any importance. 
High above the river in some places there are extensive 
wooded slopes, which, when cleared. Mould be well suited 
for such agricultural purposes as the climate would permit. 

At Fort Reliance there is a flat of probably 1,500 acres 
in extent ; but although Messrs. Harper & McQuestion 
lived there for some years, it appears they never made any 
agricultural experiments, believing that they would be 
futile. 

At the Forty Mile River there is a flat of about four or 
five hundred acres in area, on which the soil is of better 
quality than on many of the other places mentioned. On 
this Messrs. Harper & McQuestion erected their dwelling and 
store houses. They gave it as their opinion that only very 
hardy roots would live through the many cold nights of 
the summer months, and that the season is so short that 
even if they survived the cold they would not attain a size 
fit for use. 

The river is not generally clear of ice until between the 
25tli of May and the 1st of June, and heavy frosts occur 
early in September, and sometimes earlier. 

At the boundary there are two flats of several hundred 
acres each, one on the west side, the other three miles 
above it on the east side. Both of these are covered with 
poplar, spruce and white birch, also some willow and small 
pine. 

In making preparations for the foundations of our house 
at our Avinter quarters near the boundary we had to exca- 
vate in the bank of the river, and in an exposed place 
where the sun's rays could reach the surface without bin- 



116 KLoyUYKE FACTS. 

drauce from trees or utlier sluide we found the depth to the 
perpetually frozen ground to be not more than two feet. 
In the woods where the ground was covered with over a 
foot of moss the frozen ground is immediately below the 
moss. On this the timber is generally small, and of very 
slow growth, as is evident from the number of annual 
rings of growth. I have seen trees of only three or four 
inches in diameter which were upwards of one hundred 
and fifty years old. 

It is difficult to form an estimate of the total area of 
agricultural land seen, but it certainly bears a very small 
proportion to the remainder of the country. I think ten 
townships, or 360 square miles, would be a very liberal 
estimate for all the places mentioned. This gives us 
330,400 acres, or, say 1,000 farms. The available land on 
the affluents of the river would probably double this, or 
give 2,000 farms iu that part of our territory, but on the 
most of these the returns would be meagre. 

Without the discovery and development of large mineral 
wealth it is not likely that the slender agricultural re- 
sources of the region will ever attract attention, at least 
until the better parts of our territories are crowded. 

In the event of such discovery some of the land might 
be used for the production of vegetable food for the miners ; 
but, even in that case, with the transport facilities which 
the district commands, it is very doubtful if it could com- 
pete profitably with the south and east. 



TIMBER FOR USE IN BUILDING AND MANUFACTURING. 

The amount of this class of timber in the district along 
the river is not at all important. There is a large extent 
of forest which would yield firewood, and timber for use 



KLOXDYKE FACTS. 117 

in mines, but for the manufacture of lumber there is very 
little. 

To give an idea of its scarceness, I may state that two 
of my party made a thorough search of all the timbered 
land around the head of Lake Bennet and down the lake 
for over ten miles, and in all this search only one tree was 
found suitable for making such plank as we required for 
the construction of our large boat. This tree made four 
planks 15 inches wide at the butt, 7 at the top, and 31 feet 
long. 

Such other planks as we wanted had to be cut out of 
short logs, of which some, 10 to 1-4 inches in diameter and 
10 to 10 feet long, could be found at long intervals. The 
boat required only 450 feet of jilank for its construction, 
yet some of the logs had to be carried nearly 200 yards, 
and two saw-jiits had to be made before that quantity was 
procured, and this on ground that was all thickly wooded 
with spruce, pine, and some balsam, the latter being gen- 
erally the largest and cleanest-truuked. 

These remarks apply to the timber until we reach the 
lower end of Marsh Lake. On the head of the river, near 
the lake, some trees of fair size, 13 to 14 inches in diameter, 
and carrying their thickness very well, could be got, but 
their number Avas small, and they were much scattered. 

At the canon the timber is small and scrubby ; below it 
there were a few trees that would yield planks from 7 to 10 
inches wide, but they have been nearly all cut by the 
miners, many of whom made rafts at the head of Lake 
Bennet, floated down to White Horse Rapids, and there 
abandoned them for boats which they then built. 

The great bulk of the timber in the district suitable for 
manufacture into lumber is to be found on the islands in 
the river. On them the soil is warmer and richer, the 



118 KLONUYKE FACTS. 

sun's rays striking the surface for ii much longer time, 
and more directly than on the banks. 

At the confluence with the Pelly, on the east side of the 
river, there is a grove of spruce, from which some very 
nice lumber could be made, and on the islands below this 
much of the same class of timber exists. Near White and 
Stewart Elvers there is a good deal of nice clean timber, 
but it is small. It is said there is more good timber on 
Stewart Kiver in proi^ortion to the ground wooded than 
on the main river. 

Between Stewart Eiver and the boundary there is not 
so much surface covered with large trees as on many of 
the flats above it, the valley being generally narrower, and 
the sides steejicr than higher up the river. This, of course, 
precludes the growth of timber. 

To estimate the quantity of timber in the vicinity of the 
river in our territory would be an impossible task, having 
only such data as I was able to collect on my way down. 
I would, however, say that one-fourth of the area I have 
given as agricultural land would be a fair conjecture. 
This would give us two and a half townships, or ninety 
square miles, of fairly well timbered ground ; but it must 
be borne in mind that there is not more than a square mile 
or so of that in any one place, and most of the timber 
would be small and poor compared with the timber of 
Manitoba and the easterly jiart of the Northwest Terri- 
tories. 

At the Boundary Line I required, as has already been 
explained, a tree 22 inches in diameter at the ground on 
which to erect my transit. An exhaustive search of over 
three square miles of the woods there, though showing 
many trees of convenient size for house logs, and many for 
small clean planks, showed only one 18 inches in diameter 
at a distance of five feet above the ground. 



KLONDYKK FACTS. 119 

It may be said that the country might furnish much 
timber, whicli, though not fit to be classed as merchant- 
able, would meet many of the rec|nirements of the only 
industry the country is ever likely to have, viz., mining." 



120 KLONDYKE FACTS. 



CHAPTER X. 



MORTALITY AND CLIMATE. 



Reports of deaths in tlie Klondyke are most unreliable 
and would be ridiculous were they not painful to read. 
One report stated that there had been two thousand deaths 
during the winter of 1896 and 1897, when as a matter of fact 
there were not 1,500 people in the entire territory. The 
truth is there were only two deaths, one of heart disease and 
one a man who died on the way in, not from hardship but 
from natural causes. In the graveyard at Forty Mile Post, 
which has served for all that section for some years past, 
there are only between thirty and forty graves. The place 
is exceptionally healthy, and the mortality cannot be com- 
pared with any eastern state, fevers and pneumonia being 
unknown. There are no infectious diseases. A few doc- 
tors have thus far located there, but have not as much 
practice as if located in any large city. There are no 
dentists at this writing, but there is a good opening for a 
few. 

Any one afflicted with catarrh may be recommended to 
go there, as the high altitude is good for them. 

Twenty Sisters of Mercy at this writing have left from 
Lachine and Montreal, Canada, bound for Circle City, the 
Klondyke, and other points, to care for the sick and dis- 
abled, feeling sure that with the influx of miners their ser- 



KLONDYKE FACTS, 12l 

viced will be required. At Circle City there is a lios])itai 
under the charge of these Sisters. Now, as to the olimnto; 

In the Northwestern Territory winter commences in 
Octol)er. The fall of snow through the winter is not ex^ 
eessivo. I am speaking now of the mining regions. On 
the coast the fall of snow is very heavy, but in tlie mining 
regions two feet is considered a very heavy fall. Tlu're is 
very rarely more than three feet of snow at any one time. 
The snow is light and flaky and dry as sawdust. A har<l 
crust does not form, as there are no winter thaws. 

I'ravelling during the winter from near-by points is gen- 
erally done altogether on snow-shoes, which are ])nrchased 
from the Indians, the price for which varies from *.t to 110 
per pair, according to the quality. 

During the winter the thermometer sometimes goes as 
low as 70 degrees below zero, but this lasts but a very short 
period at any one time. The average temperature during 
the winter, I should say, was about twenty degrees below 
zero. The reader will, however, recollect that the altitude 
is very high and the air extremely dry, so that the cold is 
not felt so much as in sections of the State of New York, 
where the thermometer rarely goes as low as 30 degrees 
below zero. In fact I have suffered more from cold in my 
old home in Northern New York than I ever suffered here. 
I have chopped wood here in my shirt-sleeves outside my 
door when the thermometer was 70 degrees below zero and 
suffered no great discomfort, — the air was so very dry. 

"Winter days are very short in Dawson City, it is only 
two hours from sunrise to sunset. The sun rises and sets 
away in the south, but there is no pitch darkness. The 
twilight lasts all night, and the Northern Lights are very 
common throughout these regions. 

As a school teacher in this region once quaintly put it, 
*'At Circle Citv I went to school at nine o'clock in the 



122 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

moniing by the light of the setting moon, :in(l returned 
home iit noon by the light of the rising moon," 

Spring ojiens about May 1st, and the ice on the Yukon 
commences to break up about the same time. The Yukon 
is generally clear of ice about May the loth. 

In summer time it is quite warm, the temperature fre- 
quently rising 93 degrees above. The discomfort from the 
heat, however, is not so much felt as might be expected on 
account of the dryness of the air. The rainy season is in 
the latter part of August and the beginning of September 
usually, and lasts about two or three weeks. The discom- 
fort in summer from flies, gnats and mosquitoes is consider- 
able. 

During the summer the day is about twenty hours long, 
the sun rising and setting away in the north. 

There has been a misapprehension of the country and 
from a sort of accepted conclusion that the climate on 
the coast and that in the interior is similar. In the in- 
terior the climate is influenced largely by the altitude of 
each particular district, and in consequence of the general 
lowering of the country beyond the sixtieth parallel, the 
climatic conditions necessarily are much more favorable 
than they are, for example, in the Cassear district, which 
is only just north of British Columbia. 

There is a wide difference, too, in the quantities of snow 
that accumulate in winter on the Coast Ranges and in the 
interior. While the quantities arc great on the Coast 
Eanges, the depth of snow as far down the Yukon as the 
Stewart River and Forty Mile Creek is inconsiderable. In 
his work on ^'Alaska and Its Resources," W. H. Dall says, 
" The valley of the lower Yukon is somewhat foggy in the 
latter part of summer, but as we ascend the river the cli- 
mate improves." 

The temperature of Wrangell, Avhich is just off the 



KLONDVKK FACTS. 123 

mouth of the Stikiue, may be taken as fairly representa- 
tive of tlie coast in these latitutles. For the interior region 
there is not, unfortunately, any record of a series of ther- 
mometer readings ; l)ut some idea of its climate may be 
rorme<l from that of Fort ^'ukon, which is, however, situ- 
ated far to the north, almost exactly on the Arctic circle. 

DR. Dawson's tarle. 

The mean seasonal temperature for these two stations, 
as gathered by Dr. Dawson, is as follows : 

Wrangell. Fort Yukon. 

Sirring 40-4 14-6 

Summer oT'l 56-7 

Autumn 43*0 17-4 

Winter 28-3 23-8 

Whole year 42-2 lG-8 

In other words, the seasons are not so severe in the in- 
terior of the gold-bearing regions as they are in some of 
the central provinces of European Russia, where the ther- 
mometer descends to 31 degrees and sometimes to 50 de- 
grees in the winter months, hut rises in summer to 104 
and even to 109 degrees. The rainfall in the interior, too, 
is small, varying from sixteen to twenty-eight inches, the 
maximum precipitation taking place during the summer 
months. 

I consider above readings can apply for immediate 
Klondyke regions. 

By ]\Iay 1st prospecting and new mining operations 
usually begin, and there are really only four months, May, 
June, July and August, during which prospecting can be 
done and new mining operations commenced. 



i24 KLoyDyi<:K facts. 

There is a popular error that miniug operations can only 
be conducted during those four months, but I shall draw 
a clear distinction between prospecting and the commence- 
ment of the new operations, and the working of mines al- 
ready established and being worked. Mining operations 
of the latter sort where the mines are already established 
can be conducted during the entire year. 



KLOJSDlKt: FACTid. 125 



CHAPTER XI. 

COST OF LIVING AXD AVAGES PAID. 

Many unreliable reports have been received as to the 
enormous cost of living in the new gold region. 

When I left there in June, 1897, board was obtainable in 
Dawson City from tAvo to three dollars per day in hotels 
and restaurants, but many of the miners were living on 
their OAvn resources at not more than $1.00 per day, and 
some of the men that I knew were not spending more than 
$250.00 a year for living expenses. Of course with the 
large influx of new prospectors, the rate of board and pro- 
visions will advance, but in my opinion the advance will 
not be excessive for the reason that the Transportation 
Companies will increase their facilities for bringing in 
supplies. This is no place for a man unless he goes ready 
to do hard work and suffer hardships. Of course, in any 
mining camp or community of any nature, there is always 
a number of indolent characters who live by gambling, 
etc. Up to June, labor was in good demand ; it was almost 
impossible to secure hands at $15.00 per day to work in a 
saw mill. Miners Avorking on claims and mechanics re- 
ceive $1.50 per hour or $15.00 a day. Ordinary laborers 
for any kind of Avork, however, never receive less than 
$10.00 a day. If a man is economical in his living, and 
does not alloAV himself to be drawn into the gambling 



126 KLONDYSE FACTS. 

saloons, he can save sufficent money in a short time to pur- 
(^liase an outfit and go to i^vospecting and locate a good 
claim outside of the present regions. I certainly would 
not recommend a person to go into the country with only 
sufficient money to take him there, lie should have suf- 
il(nent money to take him there and purchase provisions 
for one year, and not be dependent upon the charity of 
strangers. The cost of various articles at Dawson City 
are mentioned in the chapter under outfit for miners. 

A miner does not have to be in the country long before 
he makes association with some other miner, and puts up 
his own cabin thereby reducing expenses. 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 127 



CHAPTER XII. 



MIKEKS LUCK. 



Many of the reports received of the Large finds of gold 
from the gold regions are not in any way exaggerated, but 
the claims all along the Klondyke and its various tributaries 
are already taken up and more than 1000 claims are staked 
out and in operation, and the new prospector must work 
for others or go on j)rospecting trips farther into the region 
and take his chance of locating new claims. 

I consider the chance good if he is well supplied with 
provisions and enjoys a good constitution, and can suffer the 
hardships which must be endured in any circumstances in 
this new and comparatively unexplored region. 

The reports already received of the finds of gold seem 
beyond belief but the greater part of them are actual 
facts, and the following came under my personal ob- 
servation : — 

Alexander McDonald, on Claim No. 30, Eldorado, on 
the Klondyke, started drifting on his claim with four 
men. The men agreed to work the claim on shares, the 
agreement being that they should work on shares by each 
receiving half of what they could get out. The five 
together took out 85,000 in twenty-eight days. The 



128 KLONBYKE FACTS. 

ground dug up was found to measure but 40 square feet. 
This was an exceptional find. The men are of course 
working the claim and had 460 square feet on the claim 
still to work out. 

People in the east or elsewhere can hardly realize what 
a small space a mining claim is in this vast and compara- 
tively unexplored territory. 

William Leggatt on Claim No. 13, Eldorado, together 
with William Gates and a miner named Shoots, purchased 
this claim from a miner named Stewart, and his partner, 
for the sum of $45,000. They did not have money to 
make the payment in cash, but made a first payment of 
$2,000 with the agreement to pay the balance of the 
purchase price, 143,000, prior to July 1st, 1897. They 
sunk a shaft and commenced taking out 11,000 per 
day. 

They worked the pay dirt until about May 15, 1897, 
when they found that they had taken out 162,000, 
and the space of the claim worked Avas only 24 square 
feet. 

A young man who went to the Klondyke recently 
writes that he is taking out $1,800 a day from his 
claim. 

There are a- great number of such exceptional finds that 
have occurred within the last six months. 

On November 20, Thomas Flack, William Sloan and a 
man by the name of Wilkinson sunk a hole eighteen feet 
deep in El Dorado Creek, and struck a four-foot pay streak 
that went $5 to the pan, or 12.50 to the shovelful. This 
was not for a short time, but for weeks and weeks. They 



KLOSDYKE FACTS. 129 

shovelled out ton after ton of dirt that was literall}- filled 
with gold, and did not know it. The news of the new 
strike was spread out all over the Northwest, and not 
only prospectors but practical mining men came to the 
diggings. Some capitalists saw the Flack mine, and 
bought out his partners, Sloan and Wilkinson, for $50.<J<X) 
each, but Flack would not sell, which proved his sense, 
as the men Avho purchased his partners' interest got over 
|;50,000 each out of the dump that the trio had discarded 
before they struck the pay streak at the eighteen-foot 
level. 

There were very few practical miners there at first, but 
they soon began to flock in and take hold. Each day 
brought news of other nuirvellously rich strikes. The ex- 
citement grew by the hour. Xot a moment was lost in 
the accumulation of the precious metal, and even women 
began to move toward El Dorado. The Yukon had com- 
pletely frozen up, and three steamers — the Weare, the 
Bella and the Arctic — were fast in the ice. That, how- 
ever, did not deter the passengers, as they came along on 
sledges and snowshoes. It was anything to get there 
with them. Two ladies, Mrs. Lippi, whose husband now 
has a claim valued at 11,000,000, and Mrs. Berry, j)icked 
out of a dump 16,000 each in a few days after their arrival. 
They found the metal by poking around in the dirt with 
sticks. I cite this instance to show how much valuable 
material was discarded in the wild rush for bonanzas. The 
basic principles of placer mining were in many instances 
utterly ignored, and men delved in the earth for nothing 
short of nuggets. It was the most exciting scene I have 
ever witnessed or read about. 

When the big strike was made in El Dorado the men 
down at Bonanza Creek became very much dissatisfied 
9 



130 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

witli gravel tliat went for GO cents to sS^l.GO a pan, Avhen, 
as a matter of fact, 5 cents a Y>an is considered good any- 
where else, and will pay well in the clean up. 

A biCt deal. 

San Francisco, August 2. — 0. O. Howard, jr., the 
mining expert and son of Gen. 0. 0. Howard, telegraphed 
to a Wall Street syndicate on Friday : "I have secured 
an option on Clarence Perry's controlling interest in four 
best claims at Klondyke price #2,000,000, 10 per cent, to 
to be paid immediately : this sum to be forfeited if conti'ol 
isn't carried through, and balance paid in six months. 
Forty square feet actually produced ^i^l 30,000, of which 
$00,000 in nuggets is here." 

On the 17tli ult., the steamer Portland, of the N. A. 
Transportation and Trading Co., arrived at Seattle, bring- 
ing a large party of miners from Klondyke via St. Michael, 
who brought out over $970,000 in gold dust, as that 
amount has been definitely located as having been shipped 
by the express comi^anies and banks of Seattle, while it is 
possible considerably more than that was brought out, in- 
asmuch as many individuals took nway without shipment 
more or less gold. Several Seattle parties were among 
this number, one of whom, Mr. Stanley, who went into 
Yukon eleven months ago, brought witli him $112,000 in 
gold. Others brought out dust in sums ranging from five 
to seventy or eighty thousand dollars. 

These parties brought marvellous stories of the richness 
of the placers in that country. Some of them had taken 
these amounts out of a very small portion of their claims. 

HAD AN EARLY TIP. 

North Tonawanda, N. Y., August 2. — The news of 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 131 

the great gold discoveries in the Kloiidyke region was told 
in tiie Toiiawanihis h)ng before it l)ecanie isnown to the 
world at large through the newspapei's. A small, thick- 
set man walked into the Hotel Hheldon in this city on 
April 2, and registered under the name ol* C F. Leaven- 
worth, iSpokane, Wash. M. B. Pierce, the proprietor of tiie 
hotel, recognized in the stranger his cousin, whom he had 
not seen since IBiJ-i. 

As hoys. Pierce and Leavenworth had been chums at 
their old home in liochester, but they separated in 1804, 
Leavenworth entering the L'"nited States Army, while 
Pierce, who was then but seventeen years old, left for the 
coal regions of Pennsylvania. 

After the two men had hugged each other, each naturally 
became curious to learn how the other had fared during 
the thirty-three years in which they had not seen each 
other. Both had a long story to tell, and it took several 
days in which to inform Pierce of the woiulerful sights 
seen by Leavenworth. He had been around the world, and 
had visited every country and clime on the face of the 
globe. The last two years of his life, however, had been 
spent in the gold fields ^of Alaska, where he had accumu- 
lated a fortune. 

'' Why, Pierce," he said, in an ecstasy of enthusiasm, gn 
the second day after his arrival, ''the gold in the district 
where my claim is located is thicker than coal in the coal 
fields of Pennsylvania." 

After hearing his story. Pierce began to pity his cousin. 
When the two men were together with other friends of the 
proprietor, Leavenworth would begin to talk of the gold in 
the Klondyke. This was not appreciated by Mr. Pierce as 
much as one would suppose. He did not relish the idea of 
other people learning of the affliction of his cousin, and he 
frequently cautioned him to let that Klondyke story alone. 



132 KLOyUYKE FACTS. 

Souu after the arrival of Leavenworth at the hotel, 
C'oliu Mcintosh, of Tacoma, Washington, arrived in town, 
^fcliitosh was Leavenworth's boon companion during his 
I rip llirough Alaska, and he corroborated Leavenworth's 
story regarding the richness of the Yukon Valley. The 
nien were on their way back from New York to Seattle 
from where they were to take the first steamer to leave for 
the gold fields. While at the hotel in this city they ex- 
hil»ited small quautities of gold-dust and several small 
luiggels. 'IMicy seemed to have money to burn, and they 
spent it Ireely. All these things finally convinced Leaven- 
worth's friends that he was not daft. 

William Kolju, a Finlunder. has arrived home after an 
absence of 18 months, bringing with him ll'TjOOO in gold 
nuggets from the Klondyke. In P'ebruary last he was on 
the verge of starvaticm and had no money to buy food. A 
.-hort time after this his fortune brightened. He struck 
pay dirt and began taking it out and packing his sluice 
boxes. This required arduous labor, as the pay ground 
lay on the bedrock beneath the frozen soil. 

In ^lay the water came in torrents. Mr. Kolju began 
sluicing his dirt and met with success. He at once set 
a|>()ut cleaning up as much of liis dirt as possible, taking 
out a little more than ^K,000 in gold dust, which he 
brought home with him. lie sold his claim for $20,000. 

Prof. Lippy, formerly secretary of the Y. M. C. A, at 
Seattle, returned from the Klondyke with IG7,000 in gold 
dust, and also J. 0. Hestwood, of Seattle, brought out 
over #7,000. Quite a number of California people had 
sums ranging from $5,000 to 150,000. 

More news of rich finds was brought into San Francisco, 



KLONDYEE FACTS. 133 

by the steamer Walla Walla, on July 31. Several miners 
returned on the AValla Walla, one of them with a bag of 
Klondyke nuggets. Beside this gold, the steamer brought 
about 150,000 from the famous Treadwell mine on Doug- 
lass Island, and about 130,000 from the mines of the 
Nowell Grold Mining Company on Derner's Bay. 

Another rich strike on a branch of the Klondyke is re- 
ported by Harry Fitzgerald, who came direct from Juneau. 

lie says that the last mail-carrier from Dawson brought 
news that an immense strike had been made by Curley 
Monroe, a Seattle man. The exact amount of gold taken 
out was unknown. 

Fitzgerald brings the news that hundreds of tons of 
supplies are stacked wp at Dyea waiting to be carried over 
the pass. It will be impossible, he says, to move all the 
goods before spring. 

Juneau is deserted. Everybody has gone to the Yukon, 
and the quartz mines cannot get enough men to run their 
mills. Wages are ^2.50 to 13 per day with board, but 
only fifty or sixty men are working at Treadwell, where 
three hundred were working six months ago. 

The most interesting feature of the mail advices that 
come from the Klondyke will be the details of the mining 
strikes made on Stewart and Pellj'' rivers this summer. 
Several times since the arrival of the Klondyke miners 
with their nuggets from Bonanza and Eldorado creeks, 
stories have been afloat of still richer fields on Stewart Creek 
and other creeks further east. None of tlie returned 
Klondykers were able to give information on the subject. 
Many have mined with limited success on Stewart. Pelly 
and other rivers before striking rich dirt on the Klondyke 
tributaries. 

The only hint of what has been found, comes through 
Surveyor Ogilvie in the following news from Ottawa, re- 



134 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

ceived at Victoria, B. C. : " While the Government 
officials are extremely reticent as to the latest advices from 
Surveyor Ogilvie and Inspector Constantine, the fact has 
leaked out that those officials have assured their depart- 
ments tluit scores of miners are deserting the Klondyke 
for a richer district further east, believed to be Stewart 
river, where it is said still more wonderful deposits have 
been discovered this spring." Pelly River is about par- 
allel with Stewart River and outers the Yukon about forty 
miles higher up. Botli rivers are on the right or east 
bank of the Yukon, and are east of Dawson City. The 
Pelly has also been prosi:»ected by some Klondykers with 
little if any success, but this is no proof that other pros- 
pectors have not been more fortunate. 

One miner who has been in the country eight or ten 
years told me that the experienced miners about Circle 
City had sunk their shafts and followed what was supposed 
to be an infallil)le rule in placer mining, viz. : that when 
they struck the clay they abandoned their claims, consider- 
ing them to be valueless, while, as he expressed it, these 
tenderfeet went into the Klondyke, and not knowing 
enough to stop digging, dug right through the clay, under 
which were the richest strikes. He and his companions 
have returned to their old diggings to work througli the 
clay, hoping to find the same condition as at the Klondyke. 

There has been found at the Klondyke what is called a 
false bedrock. It would appear that in the glacial action 
the gold was deposited on true bedrock and subsequently 
by either volcanic action or extraordinary glacial action, 
what appeared to be another bedrock Avas deposited on top 
of this gold deiJosit, and parties who have gone through 
this false bedrock have found rich pay streaks between it 
and true bedrock. 

It is reported by parties Avho brought down large 



KLOXDYKE FACTS. 135 

amounts on the Portland that there are two million dollars 
in dust now in the country which will be brought out by 
the owners when they have occasion to come out. The 
security of possession of the gold dust there is absolute, and 
unless the persons are coming out they feel they are per- 
fectly secure in its possession. Only such come at this 
season of the year — at which the most work is being done 
— as have to get more provisions or materials ; or those who 
have struck extraordinarily rich claims and have left friends 
or relatives in possession to work the claims Avhile they 
come down with the dust they have, and to make provi- 
sion for their friends and relatives here. 

That the country is marvellously rich in gold there can 
he no doubt, and if the steamei's from the north via St. 
^Michael or Dyea will on their trips in August and Sept- 
ember confirm the stories of the miners who come out from 
there and bring out gold in the quantities it is expected 
they will, I estimate there will be no less than 50,000 
people exclusive of excursionists going into Alaska next 
spring or the early summer. 

A FEMALE GOLD HUNTER. 

Pauline Kellogg, the daughter of Judge Kellogg, an old 
miner of Colorado, who now lives here, is about to start 
for the Klondyke to engage in mining on her own account. 
She was born at Breckinridge, Col., and lived all during 
her youth in an atmosphere of mining speculation. Al- 
though young and delicate, she is determined to brave the 
hardships of camp life on the Yukon, and is only waiting 
till she can start with some friends. She says : 

" I am not going to look on there. I shall take up a 
claim, hire help, and superintend the work myself. Of 
course, I know it is a life of hardship. I can remember 
some of the things we used to go through in the cabin at 
Breckinridge when the country was new. There is an 



136 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

element of clanger in it, bnt I feel able to take care of my- 
self. I have known of women in Colorado who did just 
this thing, and grew rich. My expectations are moderate, 
but I do not see why I could not do the same," 

*' It is stated on good authority that one claim yielded 
$90,000 in 45 feet up and down the stream. Clarence 
Berry bought out his two partners, paying one $35,000 and 
the other 160,000, and has taken up $140,000 from the 
winter dump alone. Peter "Wiborg has purchased more 
ground. He purchased his partner's interest in a claim, 
paying $42,000. A man by the name of "Wall has all he 
thinks he wants, and is coming out. He sold his interests 
for $50,000. Nearly all the gold is found in the creek bed 
on the bed rock, but there are a few good bench diggings. 

Perhaps the most interesting reading in the Mining 
Record is the letters A\ritten by men in the Klondyke to 
friends in Juneau. Here is one from " Casey " Moran : 

Dawson, March 20. 1897. 

''Friend George : Don't pay any attention to what any 
one says, but come in at your earliest opportunity. My 
God ! it is appalling to hear the truth, but nevertheless 
the world has never jiroduced its equal before. Well, 
come. That's all. Your friend, 

" Casey." 

Burt Shuler, writing fi-om Klondyke under date of 
June 5, says : 

"We have been here but a short time and we all have 
money. Provisions are much higher than they were two 
years ago and clothing is clean out of sight. One of the 
A. C. Co.'s boats was lost in the spring, and there will be 



KLOXDYKF. FACTS. ia7 

a shortage of provisions again tliis fall. There is nothing 
that a man could eat or wear that he cannot get a good 
price for. First-class rubber boots ai-o worth from an ounce 
to $25 a pair. Tbe price of flour has been raised from $4 
to $6 and it was selling at $50 when we arrived, as it was 
being freighted from Forty Mile. Big money can be made 
by bringing a small outfit over the trail this fall. Wages 
have been $15 per day all winter, though a reduction to 
$10 Avas attempted, but the miners quit work. . . . Here 
is a creek that is eighteen miles long, and, as far as is 
known, without a miss. There are not enough men in the 
country to-day to work the claims. Several other creeks 
show equal promise, but very little work has been done on 
the latter. I have seen gold dust until it seems almost as 
cheap as sawdust. If you are coming in, come prepared 
to stay two years at least ; bring plenty of clothing and 
gooil rubber boots." 

Here is a letter from another enthusiast : 

Kloxdyke, May 27, 1897. 

" Friexd Bill : We landed here the ITth and went 
on a stampede the next day. and have just got back. I 
I came through the camp and saw a good many friends ; 
I saw Burt ; he has a claim on Bonanza Creek. Billy 
Leake has bought a claim on Fildorado ; the claim is sup- 
posed to be worth a million. There are thirty-four claims 
on the same creek which seem to be as good. Bonanza is 
good, but not so rich. There are 100 claims on Bonanza 
which are good, and there are other creeks which give 
good pay. Bill, it is the best camp T ever saw. Wages 
are $15 a day ; everything is high : gum boots are selling 
at $25. I look for a new strike this summer, as manv men 



138 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

are out prospecting, and it is the best gold country I ever 
saw. I wish you were here ; we will make a stake if we 
stay with it ; I will have something before winter. If you 
come in this fall don't start after the 15tli of August ; one 
can make more here m one year than he can in ten out 
there. There will be work the year round ; wages may be 
cut to 110, but I don't think it ; I can go to work at any 
time, and for as long as I wish at 115. It will pay to 
bring anything here which can be carried in ; the demand 
is good and prices such that there is money in anything 
that can be brought in. Money will hardly buy claims 
here now, but men can often get in on a May.' I know 
men who took ' lays ' since Feb. 1, and made enough to go 
out with as high as 120,000 apiece. 

''Andy Heksley." 



Oscar Ashby fears that gold will have to be demonetized, 
for he says in a letter dated May 18, from Circle City : 

"Hereafter address all letters to Klondyke, N. W. Ter- 
ritory. I would have stayed here in Alaska, but when I 
heard of McKinley's election I pulled my freight, for I 
knew that meant gold. I tell you one thing, if they find 
a few more Eldorado and Bonanza creeks, they will have 
to demonetize gold. Some of the kings here are hurrying 
out to spend their money before that is done. However, 
I am going to take chances on mine." 

Another letter says : 

" Circle City is deserted, every one having gone to Klon- 
dyke, where the richest strike of the kind ever known in 
any country was made last fall. The stories told are not 
exaggerated. One hundred dollars to the ©an is very 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 139 

common. One can hard!}- boliovc it, l)nt it is true, never- 
theless. 

" Eldorado is staked off into claims for eight or ten 
miles, and every claim so far has shown up big. One 
claim was sold for 8100,000 three days ago. Bonanza is 
good also, and two or three other gulches close by show up 
well. Every camp in the Yukon Valley is deserted for 
Klondykc. Wages there are $15, while $12 is the prevail- 
ing rate lierc. Xo one wants to work for Avages, but all 
are prospecting. This is undoubtedly the best poor man's 
country in the world to-day. A very hard country to live 
in on account of the mosquitoes and poor grub, but healthy 
and a show to make a ten-strike. We heard that McCul- 
lough, formerly of the Juneiui Hotel, had been drowned 
while shooting the White Horse Rapids ; don't know 
whether there is any truth in it, as he Avas behind us. A 
number of parties were swamped and lost their outfits, but 
escaped with their lives. The triji is anything but one of 
pleasure, as you will find if you ever make it. 

'' Fred Brewster Fay.'' 



S80,000 IN NINETY DAYS. 

San Franc iscn, July 24. 

William Stalley, his son, F. Phiscater and C. Worden, all 
of whom left Seattle for the mines less than a year ago, 
have returned. From their claims they took out gold 
worth more than ^80,000 in ninety days, and believe 
they have only just begun their work. They intend to 
return in March. I know that the above report is correct 
and the work was done on claims numbers 25 and 2G each 
of 500 feet. 



140 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

Mr. Misner writes : •' We reached Dawson about 3 o'clock 
in the morning, and found one of the liveliest mining- 
camps I ever saw. There are about four thousand people 
here, and saloons, dance-halls and restaurants never close. 
The gambling tables are always crowded, and thousands of 
dollars change hands in a remarkably short time. Men 
who this time last year did not have a dollar now count 
their wealth by thousands. Nearly everybody has a sack 
of gold with him as big as a policeman's club. 

The sun sinks out of sight noAv about 10.30 p. m. and 
comes up about 3 a. m. At midnight, however, it is almost 
as light as noonday. There is no night. At Dawson there 
is a little saw'mill, and rough houses are going up in all 
directions, but for the most part it is a city of tents. On 
the shore of the river are hi^ndreds of boats, and others are 
getting in every day. 

Klondyke has not been one particle overrated. I have 
seen gold measured out by the bucketful. Just think of 
a man taking $700 out of one pan of dirt. Mrs. Wilson, 
wife of the Alaska Commercial Company's agent, panned 
$154 out of a single pan in one of the mines I am to take 
charge of. This is Avithout doubt the richest gold strike 
the world has ever known. 

With all the new men in tlie country many miles of 
ncAV grounds will be prospected, and from the lay of the 
land I think other gold fields are certain to be located. 
Of course every foot of rich ground has an owner, so the 
newcomers have to depend on new strikes. Every day 
rumors of new discoveries reach here, which at once start 
stampedes, and hundreds rush out to stake claims. 

Wi}nti/H'f/. u)fa)i., July 28. 
Commissioner Herchmer, of tlie Xorth-West Mounted 



KLOXDYKE FACTS. 141 

Police, Regina, is hero on liis way to Ottawa to make 
arrangements for a fresli contingent of police that will leave 
for the Yukon early in the autumn, lie strongly urges no 
one to go this year, but wait till ]March next at least. He 
has gathered much useful information from Inspector 
Strickland. The latter thinks everything of the country, 
and is so anxious to get back that he has volunteered to 
take the autumn force. Tiie Commissioner says that al- 
ready the police are building new posts at Dawson City and 
Stewart River, no light work, when it is pointed out that 
they preferred pulling down some buildings forty miles 
away to hunting for sufficient logs for their purpose. The 
wealth realized is sometliing fabulous, Strickland declared, 
though the men will not say where they made it and liow 
much it amounts to. One man in tlie force sold out his 
half share in a claim for $40,000. Sergt. Telford who is 
passing through this week on his way to the East for two 
or three months, where he will visit the principal cities, 
and then will leave for Ireland, is said to have struck it 
rich, though the figures are not given. 

Tacoma. WasI/., July 24. 

Warren Shea, of New Whatcom, one of the lower Puget 
Sound towns, sends the most marvellous news yet received 
from the Klondyke. Shea writes to his brother, S. S. 
Shea, of New AVhatcom, that the new boat that comes back 
from the Klondyke country will bring gold out in fish 
barrels holding about twenty-two gallons each. 

'■"Two days after the last boat left," Miner Shea writes, 
'• one of the stores was closed for the purpose of utilizing 
it as a warehouse for shipping gold dust and nuggets. So 
great was the quantity of gold offered for shipment that it 
was decided to ship it in barrels." 



142 KLONBYKE FACTS. 

Shea describes the scene as most interesting. The miners 
gathered about and speculated on the actual value of their 
jars, cans and sacks of gold and told what they would do 
with their money when they got back to civilization. 
Many gambled and spent their money lavishly for trinkets 
and trifles, paying $10 for a pipe that could be purchased 
in any tobacco store in this country for less than 25 cents. 

Rosshnd, B. C, July 27. 

The Miner publishes to-day a long letter from Hart 
Ilumber to Charlie Collins, of Rossland. Humber left 
Itossland for Klondyke last March, on receipt of first news 
of discoveries there. His letter deals with all phases of 
life at the mines. It is dated Dawson City, June 18, and 
among other things says : "Our trip from Dyea was full of 
hairbreadth escapes, and took seventy-five days. I arrived 
here June 9, and started work at wages of 11.50 per hour. 
After two or three weeks' work with jiick and shovel, same 
outfit will give me a job at an ounce per day. Gold dust 
fetches $17 per ounce here. There are at least fifty men 
going out to-morrow. They all arrived here broke, and are 
taking out from $10,000 to $100,000 each. At this season 
of the year the best time to travel is at night, as it is cooler 
and as light as day. The thermometer was 82 in the shade 
to-day. Mosquitoes are awful. There is more money spent 
at gambling and for whisky here in night than in Koss- 
land in a month. There are more Avays of making money 
here than any place I ever saw : drinks 50 cents ; hair-cut 
$1 ; shave 50 cents. Packing to mine costs 25 cents per 
pound. This is the richest placer camp I ever struck. The 
mines are fifteen miles from Dawson City. One Montana 
man took out $90,000 from 45 square feet, and another 
$100,000 from 85 square feet. Dozens of others here have 



KL OND YKE FA CTS. 143 

done nearly as well. Old-timers expect to strike new dig- 
gings just as rich this winter." 



MR. DRUMMOND S WAD. 

Il((iiipf()ii, Conn., July ;)1. 

One of the first persons to return to New England. IVom 
a successful trij) to the xMaskagoldlields is J. J. Drumniond, 
of this ])la(!e. Mr. Drutiimoud brought with him a clu'((ue 
for |5,00U for gold he carried to San Francisco after about 
a month of active woidc in tiie mines. He left a claim 
valued at lloOjOOO in the Yukon region, whicli he was 
forced to leave on aecujunt of lack of provisions. 

He says that the ouly way the richness of the gold terri- 
tory became known to the i)ublic was through this lack of 
food. The country has been filled Avith miners for many 
months, and they would have stayed in the gold region aiul 
kept the rich finds a secret if they had been able. But on 
returning to the settlements for provisions they found the 
stores emptied and were forced to come to the States. 
They, therefore, returned to their homes for the winter, 
and spread the stories of fabulous finds which have set 
so many men starting for Klondyke. In the spring Mr, 
Drummond will go back to woi'k his claim, and will prob- 
ably be accompanied by his brother in-law. 

ran confer, B. C, July 28. 

W. J. Sloan has returned from Klondyke. He was 
fornun-ly a dry goods clerk, making a small stipend in 
Wilson's store. He went away a year ago and returns with 
150,000 in gold nuggets, washed from the sand on Bonanza 
Creek. He is the lion of the hour and is constantly sur- 



144 KLONDYEE FACTS. 

rounded by crowds attracted by the huge nuggets he car- 
ries in his pockets. 

Mr. Sloan says transportation facilities are bad. He ad- 
vises the British Columbia merchants to band together and 
get a foothold on the trade, which is diverted to the States. 

Now is not the time to start, he says, March is the best 
month. The route by Telegraph Bay to the Skeena is the 
best route for Canadians. There are no rajiids or canons 
as in the White Horse Pass. There is no doubt about the 
value of the Klondyke diggings, but whether they are the 
only ones is hard to say. There are four miles of them all 
taken up. They average from $300 to $2,000 per foot. 
Mr. Sloan's partner was the first to get a bucket down. 
In three bucketfuls they panned 190. It is a dreary coun- 
try to winter in. There are hundreds that have not made 
it pay ; but very big Avages can be secured, an ounce a day. 
Any man can get work. 

Dawson City is at tlie junction of the Yukon and Klon- 
dyke Rivers. The former river is immense and puts the 
Fraser to shame. Tlioreare 3,000 inhabitants. The town 
sprang into existence three mouths ago, but there are already 
100 saloous. The Mounted Police keep perfect order as is 
seen in all Canadian miniug camps. 

Last winter the supply of provisions was so scarce that 
flour rose to 160 per sack. Gold dust and nuggets are the 
only medium of exchange. 

A MOUNTAIN FULL OF GOLD. 

Santa Rosa, (JaL, July 31. 

Professor Otto Fried Debendeleben declares that there is 
a mountain of gold iu Alaska, situated at G5 degrees, 2'^ 
minutes and 11 seconds north latitude, and 172 west Ion- 



KLOyUYKE FACTS. 145 

gitudc. The mountain is called Mount Debendeleben. in 
lienor of tlie {)rofessor, and was named by Professor Geo. 
Davidson. 

It was in lyGft, while he was a member of the famous 
Western Union Telegraph Hu.ssian extension expedition 
that Professor Debendeleben lirst saw the mountain. It is 
the highest peak in all that region, he says, and is full of 
gold. 

>[any scientists have btHii df tlu- ojanioii that all the 
gold that crops out on t!iis coast came sonic time from a 
great deposit in the nortli, ami the ju-ofessor thinks that 
mighty floods that moved everytliing before them carried 
the golden particles from the mother lode to lields further 
south. 

It was Professor Debendeleben who })repared the report 
on the resources of Alaska, that went to Secretary of State 
Seward which Mr. Seward declared !<• be one of the most 
comprehensive docuntents of its clKiracter ever compiled. 
It was on this report that the Secretary princi})ally relied 
when urging the purchase of Alaska from Russia by the 
United States. 

Wasliiiitituii. July 31. 

Moi"e news about big strikes in tlu- Klondyke was re- 
ceived to-day by Capt. ('. F. Shoemaker, chief of the 
revenue cutter service, in a report from Capt. E. L. 
Hooper, commanding the lichring Sea patrol fleet. Capt. 
Hooper sent some interesting infornuition about the gold 
discoveries recently, which was ])rinted in the Star. His 
report is dated Unalaska, July 10. This is what he has to 
say about the Klondyke excitement : 

" The North American Trading and Transportation 
Company's steamer Portland arrived on the 7th from St> 

lO 



146 KLONJJYKE FACTS. 

Michael with about fifty miners from the Yiikmi as jias- 
sengers. Those men Avere from tlie new mines referred 
to in my last report, and, like those who arrived on the 
Excelsior, all have gold in sums varying from Is, ()(»() or 
#10,000 to over ii!?150,000. In the aggregate the Porthind 
had nearly the same amount as was brought by the Excel- 
sior, about half a million. All this and much more that has 
not been brought down has been taken out of the mines 
since their discovery last August. 

" One man, a Mr. Berre, of California, who last 8ep- 
temljer was in debt for liis outfit, took out over 1150,000 
wliik^ merely prospecting claim No. 40 on Bonanza Creek, 
which he had staked out. With part of this gold he 
bought an interest in three other claims, which promise 
to be as rich as the first one. F. Phiscatei', who previous 
to his staking out claim No. 2 on the Eldorado, was a , 
waiter on one of the river steamers, took out $90,000 
while merely prospecting his claim, the whole of which is 
estimated to be worth over a million dollars. Many similar 
cases are reported, which indicate that the new mining 
region is the richest yet discovered on this continent. Of 
course, all this will attract a great many men, and as the 
means of getting provisions to the mines are l>ut little 
better than last year, when with only two thousand men 
to provide for food was scarce and high, it .Avill probably 
result in want." 

PROSPEROUS IX 188G. 

In 188G few of the men in Forty Mile Creek were content 
Avith ground yielding less than ^\-i a day, and several of 
them reported to the envoys of the Canadian Government 
that several had taken out nearly $100 a day for a short 
time. With the fcAV men at work and their exceedingly 



KLOXBYKE FACTS. 147 

limited f:icilitics this little streum in 1S87 gave up aljuiit 
'1^1. 50,000 ill gold. At this time the total number of miners 
in the entire territory of the Upper Yukon was less than 
two hundred and fifty and none of them wintered there. 



SCHOOL TEACHER IN LUCK. 

Scot Francisco, July 31. 

The latest arrival from the Klondyke is Albert D. Gray 
formerly a school teacher in Grand Rapids, Mich. Mr. 
Gray got here, bringing $30,000 in nuggets. 

He says he is the first man who went to Dawson by the 
Stikine Eiver route. lie j^i'edicts tlmt this Avill soon be 
the favorite route to the gold diggings. He says that 
the entire Northwest is interested in the report that the 
Canadian Government is contemplating the building of a 
railway from Telegraph Creek to Lake Teslin. From this 
lake to Dawson City there would be clear navigation if 
the rocks on the Yukon 200 miles above Dawson were 
blasted out. 

WHAT OXE 15KAVE WOMAX DID. 

Mrs. J. T. Wills, of this city, who says she went " through 
death " to seek Alaska gold, is a pioneer of the pioneers. 
She has pioneered it in New Mexico, Colorado and "Wash- 
ington. She is an Iowa woman, and reared three daughters 
in Missouri, where she married a num named i\Iercer. 

Eight years ago she struck Tacoma during the big 
Northwestern boom, and married J. T. Wills, a gun and 
lock smith. As the boom subsided it became too quiet in 
Washington for Mrs. Wills, and she journeyed to Alaska. 
She was the pioneer woman gold-hunter of that section. 



148 KLOShyXE FACTS. 

At lirst she baked hread and t'oiidiu'ied a laiiudiT at 
Circle City. Her stove Avould bake only two loaves at a 
time, but at $1 jaer loaf she managed to net ll-i per day. 
She also did plain sewiu';- for the miners, and introduced 
the fii*st starched shirt into the El Dorado of the far north. 

When the word came down the Yukon that there was 
fabulously rich pay " dirt '' on the Klondyke, Mrs. Wills 
joined the stampede. She went in with a party of cattle- 
men. The trip was rough and exciting, but Mrs. Wills 
did not complain, and was not a burden to the men who 
led the spurt for the new diggings. 

On a former occasion, however, she did not fare so well. 
On the way into tlie nnnes she became \evy sick, and for 
four days it was feared she would die. She Avas tlie only 
woman in a pnvty of 1-10 rough miners from all parts of the 
world. The miners did not tliink of leaving her behind 
while life remained, but, as one of them said on returning 
here last spring. " Tf she had died we would have made a 
coffin of her blanket and dropped her into a crevice in the 
ice, and pushed for wai'd as if nothing iiad hapjiened." 

When Mrs. Wills reached Dawson City she made a da^h 
with the best of the men for a, claim. But as the value of 
the surrounding claims came to l)c worth $"25,000 to 
$100,000, claim-jumping began, ami Mi-s. Wills had to 
fight like a will-breaker for her pi-operty. It is valued at 
at least *-2-">0,000. 

While holding on to her chiim Mi-s. Wills spends her 
leisure moments earning 115 per day as head cook for the 
Alaska-Commercial Company, at Dawson City. 

A UONDEKFUL TALE. 

Captain Harry Meggs. United States army (retired), 
tella a wondc^rful tale of the discovery of gold in Alaska in 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 149 

the latter part of the sixties. He was ou duty in that 
country at that time at a point near Juneau. He says 
that even in those early days great lumps of gold were 
exhibited by natives. 

"Often natives from the interior would come down 
A\earing necklaces made of nuggets picked up from creeks 
in the interior/' he said : "At one time there was a tribe 
which liad been conquered by another, and a penalty was 
exacted. Some of the conquered tribe came over Chilkoot 
I'ass with a certain amount of gold, which, on being 
Aveighed, was found to be short of the price demanded by 
the con(|uerors. Several chiefs Avere held as hostages, while 
the renuiindcr of the tribe was directed to cross the moun- 
tains and procure enough to liberate them. They were 
gone several months, and when they came back an amount 
mor(^ than needed to pay tlie ransom was brought in. No 
one could ascertain whence the gold came, but from the 
din>cl ion in which tliey went and the length of time tliey 
occupied in nuiking the trip it was believed that they went 
many miles inland. 

" I believe tliat these men went into the passes of the 
Klondyke country and picked up l)y the crude means at 
their command the gold needed to complete the ransom. 
It was a topic of discussion among those who were detailed 
on duty at that time, and many plans were laid to procure 
infornuition as to the location of the gold, but the natives 
kept the matter secret and Avould never disclose whence 
they derived their treasure." 



150 KLONDIKE FACTS. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

K L N D Y K E FACTS. 

Klondyke ! Kloud^^ke, the name that has hecome 
famous throughout the world and which was not heard of 
two short manths ago, is taken from the Indian name 
"^ Thron-Diuck," which means " River with plenty of fish." 
People in the region, however, do not use the name Klon- 
dyke, as used in the East. 

(rold was first discovered in the Klondyke region by a 
man named Henderson, August 24tli, '96. Prior to that 
there was no civilization there whatever. 

It was on August 24, when Henderson, who had been 
prospecting for four years in Indian Creek, a tributary of 
the Yukon, found himself in another little stream bed 
known as Gold Bottom, near the Yukon, the high water 
having driven him out of Indian Creek.' He was prospect- 
ing around, hoping to find something as good as the 
ground seemed to contain. After a time he panned out a 
little gold and put in a sluice box or two. In a very short 
time he ran out of supplies and went back to Fort Ogilvie, 
where I was stationed, and reported the find to me. I lost 
no time getting myself in readiness to proceed to the spot 
at once, and by August 28, I had two men and four 
horses in Gold Bottom. In the meantime, Henderson 
drifted down the mouth of the Klondyke in a small boat. 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 151 

uiul found George McCormack, an old friend of his, who 
was tisliing for sahnon. limiting \\p his friends when 
tiiere was anything in sight seemed to he one of Ilender- 
soiTs l)est traits. He got McCormack up to Gold Bottom, 
whore he located a claim, i^rospected around a while, and 
started back across country for the mouth of tiie Klondyko 
ifiver, a distance of twenty miles. 

That trip was destined to phi}^ an important part in the 
events which followed, for through it occurred one of 
tlu^ big finds. McCormack took with him two Chilkat In- 
dians, and the three men went off in the direction of Bo- 
nanza Creek, where the white man struck gravel that went 
8-?. 50 to the pan. According to the mining laws in Cana- 
dian possessions, the discoverer can locate an extra claim 
for himself as a reward for making the find. So McCor- 
mack took up two locations and the Indians one each. 
They set to work at once and took out $120 in gold in 
three days with little less than a pan. Then they came 
down to Fort Ogilvie and reported the find. 

That report which was spread by ^McCormack, had the 
immediate effect of sending a thrill of excitement along 
the Yukon, from the headwaters down to Forty W\\e and 
Circle City. As though by magic, the trails were sprinkled 
with pack mules, and the river was dotted with small craft 
coming up or going down to the new diggings, as the case 
may be. In less than ten days there were about 150 miners 
at work on new claims. 

Strangely enough, and as if by some great good fortune, 
I had come down the river about the same time McCormack 
left Gold Bottom, and had picked out a tov/n site where 
Dawson City now stands, a little more than a mile from 
the Bonanza Creek claims. In this respect I was very for- 
tunate, as it now stands in the midst of what is called 
Bonanza Gold Mining District, and all claims are so record- 



152 KL ONI) YKE FA (JTS. 

ed. As a matter of fact thei-e is no other suitable place 
for a toAvn site, and I consider myself lucky in getting hold 
of it. I commenced erecting the first house in that region 
on September 1st, 1896, Within six months from that 
date there were over five hundred houses erected, Avhich in- 
cluded stores, supply stations, hotels, restaurants, saloons, 
and residences. The place immediately l)ccame a bee-hive 
of vigorous industry, and the minor can detain anything 
he requires at Dawson City. I hold 1 78 acres, while the 
remaining twenty-two are the property of the (Jovernment. 
The Yukon at that point is (lOO yards across and about 
thirty-five fathoms deep, with natural advantages for pro- 
tection of craft. Dawson City is just below the month of 
the Klondyke Eiver. I named it after Dr. Dawson, who es- 
tablished the bonndary line that is now recognized as the 
correct line dividing Alaska from the Noi'thwest Terri- 
tory. It runs due north from i\fount St. Elias to Point 
Demarcation to the 141st meridian. That, of course, cuts 
all the present location with the exception of those at 
Forty Mile out of United States possessions. There is no 
cause for dispute on that score at all. It is purely a Cana- 
dian section, and is under Canadian laws. 

Just as soon as the rush began at Bonanza Creek the 
miners called a meeting, and in order tluit the claims be 
relocated and made sure of, it was decided to measure them 
all off with a rope and reset the stakes that defined them. 
Somehow or other the men selected to make the measure- 
ments slid in a forty instead of a fifty foot rope, and thus 
nnide the claims from fifty to one hundred feet short in the 
total. In other words they were condensed, and the inter- 
vening ground was literally grabbed. This state of affairs 
incensed the miners so that when they made the discovery 
of how the measurements were conducted, they petitioned 
William Ogilvie. the Dominion Laud Surveyor, to come up 



KLOMti'Klil FA('TS. If,;} 

to lionanza Creek at onco and settle the complications that 
Avere arising. He re-surveyed the whole group of claims 
and the matter M'as then adjusted to the satisfaction of ;dl 
hands. 

It must be remembered that the total gold regions to-day 
do not extend over an area of 200 square miles froju DaAv - 
son City. 

There are good pay diggings at Circle City in Alaska. I 
know of at least twenty good claims there ; but the place 
has been practically deserted owing to the rush to Klon- 
dyke. 

Fort Cudahy or Forty Mile Creek is deserted. There 
will undoubtedly be new and vahuiblo diggings discovered 
next year in the Klondyke region Avhich will create emi- 
gration to various points at present unknown. 

Dr. W . H. J)all, of the National Museujn of Washing- 
ton, is no harebrained enthusiast and says he has spent 
much time in the Yukon Valley on geographical expedi- 
tions. He is a scientific expert. He has no axe to grind. 
He unhesitatingly accepts the reports that come from that 
portion of the Yukon N'mIIcv which lies just beyond the 
American boundary. He hns known Uw twenty years past 
that gold existed in the bed f)f the 'i'ukon IJiver, though, 
not in large enough f|u;intities to ni:ike milling very profi- 
table, and he has suspected that it existed in infinitely 
larger quantities in the various tributaries thnt empty 
into the great river. Tie holds that the Klondyke and the 
streams that feed it represent but a very snuiU portion of 
these gold yielding tributaries. In short, his opinion is 
that the gold-deposits exist over a length of five or six hun- 
dred miles. He scents no exaggeration in the reports thnt 
have come in so far from the comparatively snndl Kbni- 
dvke regions. 



154 KLONDVKE FACTS. 

Everything points to the fact that the gorgeous times 
of 1849 are to be repeated on a more prodigious scale. 

Tlie folloAving re2)ort made hy Mr. Ogilvie in January, 
189G, Avill he of interest to the intending prospector. 



CuDAHY, Sth January, 1896. 

I have the honor to transmit the following interim report of 
my operations since I came into this territory : — 

I have already sent out a short report from this place being 
fortunate enough to catch the boat here when I came down. 
In that report I made some remarks on the town sites in our 
territory ; since then I have learned nothing of importance 
in that connection, the most noteworthy fact being that gold 
bearing quartz has been found in Cone hill which stands mid- 
way in the valley of the Forty Mile River, a couple of miles 
above the jimction with the Yukon. The quantity in sight 
rivals that of the Treadwell mine on the coast, and the quality 
is better, so much so that it is thought it will pay well to work 
it even under the conditions existing here. Application has 
been made to purchase it, and an expert is now engaged in 
putting in a tunnel to test the extent. Indications in sight 
point to the conclusion that the whole hill is composed of this 
metalliferous rock. If the test corroborate this, a stamp mill 
will be erected next season, which will have an important bear- 
ing on the future of this country. If tliis venture succeeds, (as 
it doubtless will, for it is in the hands of parties who are able 
to push it) it will give permanent employment to a good many 
men, who with their families will form quite a community. 

Apart from tliis I cannot see very much of a chance for spec- 
ulation in buying or selling town sites ; and my opinion is 
confirmed by the present condition of Forty Mile, which now 
contains very few people, the great majority of the miners re- 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 155 

niaining on their claims all winter, coming in only once or 
twice for supplies. Even in tlie case of the mine at Cone hill 
being worked, only a village would be formed around it. 

Outside of all such considerations, the present applicants for 
Forty Mile and Cudahy town sites have either directly or in- 
directly occupied the present sites for years and spent thou- 
sands of dollars improving and building on them. One house 
erected in Forty Mile last summer is said to have cost $10,000. 
it would cost between two and three thousand in Ottawa. 
These improvements cover so much ground that even if it were 
decidetl to lay out the town site and convey it in lots the ap- 
l)licants would have a claim to most of the ground they ask for. 



A couple of coal claims have been staked and applied for, 
which I will survey in the spring, and at the same time make 
an examination of the coal area w^here they are. I may anti- 
cipate this to a certain extent by saying that, a few days after 
I reported to you last fall, I went up Coal creek to search for 
this coal, to which I referred in my report of 1887 and 1888. 
1 found it about 7 miles up the creek overlying a coarse sand- 
stone and under drift clay and gravel. 

The seam is 1 2 feet 6 inches thick. It seems to me to be 
a good quality of lignite. I have packed 30 to 40 pounds of 
the best specimens I found a few feet in, and will send them 
out to you in the spring, that a test may be made. That ex- 
]iosure has now been staked and applied for to the agent here. 
I judge from the position of these coal claims that we have quite 
an area of coal here. Both exposures furnish, as far as external 
features show, the same character of coal, and are about the 
same level, so that it is fair to assume they are in the same 



156 KLONDYKK FACTS. 

seam. I will make a search in the intervening distance to deter- 
mine this when I make a survey of the claims. Coal is reported 
in the drift on Chandindu, about 30 miles uj) the river from 
here, which would go to show that there is another area or a 
continuation of this one there. 

On my way down the river I saw the copper-bearing vein 
near Thron-Diuck Creek above Fort Reliance. It does not 
appear to be extensive, but there are several small veins in the 
vicinity, and it may l)e that a commercially valuable deposit 
may be found ; about 25 miles further down I found a small 
vein which indicates that this co]:)])er deposit is extensive. 

I found a small seam of rather j^oor asbestos a short distance 
from Cudahy, and as there is quite an extensive area of ser- 
pentine around here, asbestos may yet be found of commercial 
value. 

Very rich placer diggings are now being worked on the creeks 
flowing into Sixty Mile, part of which are sui)posed to be in 
Canada. I shall be able to say definitely when I produce the 
line that far where they are and how much we ha\e of them. 

Except in the vicinity of Forty Mile there a])pears to be 
nothing doing in the way of cpiartz ];rospecting. 

i^ast season good placer mines were found on the Hootalin- 
qua — Teslin of Dnwson — with coarse gold in them, and there 
will probably be a lot of claims worked there next season. 
Several miners were wintering there to commence operations 
early in the spring. A great deal of improvement has been 
introduced in the working of placer diggings, which has much 
increased the output. The miner instead of putting in the 
winter months in the towns and saloons remains on his claim 
all winter, cutting wood in the earlier months, with which he 
builds fires and thaws the frozen gravel, piling it up to be 
washed as soon .is the flow of water in the spring will permit. 
In this way the work is more than doubled, but as the sujdjjIv 



klJ>.\ DYKK FA (IS. i:,7 

ot wood is ver}' limited except on the main river this cannot 
always be done. 



The timber fit for buildings and lumber is fast disappearing 
along the river, and in a few years there will be none left near 
here. There is a portable saw-mill at Fort Ogilvie — lOO miles 
above this — and one here, which yearly cut a good deal of 
lumber. Were all this utilized in Canada nothing might be 
said of it, but some of it goes down the river into American 
territory, in addition to which a good deal of wood and logs 
are cut on our side and floated into Alaska where it is sold. 
Some men make a business of this, and on this at least the 
department might collect dues. There is \ery little good tim- 
ber on the American side of the line, hence the demand for our 
timber. 



The police have so far made a very favorable impression, 
aud the general policy of the government in connection with 
this district is admired. 

It is probable the boundaries of the j'jolice jurisdiction mav 
h.ave to be extended in the near future, for a good deal of 
trading is done on the head waters of the river by parties who 
cross the summit of the coast passes with goods from Juneau. 
Also the miners on the head waters and on the Hootalinqua 
bring in their supplies from Jimeau. Now one of the traders 
here — Har])er — has a small steamboat named the " Beaver," 
which he got in last season for the express purpose of reaching 
the upper parts of the river and its affluents witli sui:)plies, and, 
having jiaid duty on all his foreign goods, expects to be pro- 



1 58 KLOND YKE FA CTS. 

tected against smuggled goods. Should the Hootalinqua turn 
out as expected and promised, a police force will be required 
there. Harper will try hard to get up with supplies to it and 
Teslin Lake. I fancy he can lay down most things there as 
cheaply as they can be brought over the pass. It costs $14 to 
if! 1 5 — sometimes more — per 100 pounds to transport from Taiya 
to the lakes, which makes flour cost ^16 to ^17, per hundred 
at the lake, while it costs or is sold here for $S. Things here 
are sold so low now that were I ever coming in from the Paci- 
fic again I would bring nothing in quantity but bacon, on which 
I might save a dollar or two a hundred, it being sold here for 
^30 to ^35 per hundred. * * * * 

I have produced the boundary line about five miles north of 
where it crosses the Yukon River, which is as far as I thought 
needful at present. I have also produced it about 7 miles 
south, and about the end of February will resume work and run 
it as far as Sixty Mile River. In connection with this I have 
occupied six photograph stations and developed all the plates 
exposed which have turned out satisfactorily. I have made 
a cross section measurement of the Yukon River where the 
boundary crosses it. 



In the vicinity of the river I have opened out a wide line in 
the woods which will remain visible for several years, but I 
erected nothing permanent on it. 



Up to date our lowest temperature has been 6;^° below zero. 
The winter has been unusually windy. Coming up here we had 



KLOMJYKE FACTS. 159 

to face a strong wind when 52° below zero, and frozen faces 
and noses where the rule of the day. 



CuDAHY, loth June, 1896. 

I submit the following interim report of iiiy operations in the 
Yukon District up to date. 



After my return there was some fine clear weather in January, 
but it was exceedingly cold, more than 60" below zero, one 
night 68°5 ; and as I had both my ears pretty badly frozen and 
could not go out in such cold without having them covered, so 
that I could not hear the chronometer beat, I could not observe 
until the end of the month when we had tAvofine nights — 29th 
and 30th — mild enough for me to work. 



Having reduced all my observations, and the da) s having 
attained a reasonable length, I went into camp on the line on 
the 20th February, resuming work on the 22nd. But as the 
hill tops are all bare and from two to three thousand feet above 
the river we lost many days through the fierce winds. 

Our progress was necessarily slow for this reason and also 
from the fact that I photogi-aphed from several stations, which 
took some time. As there were no important creeks between 
the Yukon and Forty Mile Rivers I did not cut the line out 
continuously, but left it so that any one wishing to can place 
himself on or very near to the line. The distance from the 
Yukon to Forty Mile River is a little over tAventy-fi\e miles. 



IGO KLONBYEE FACTS. 

In the valleys along the line the timber was thick, with much 
underbrush, but very Utile of it is of much value. Curiously 
enough tlie line kept generally in the valleys or on the sides of 
them, and very little of it was in the open. Going from point 
to point we had to follow as much as possible the hill tops and 
ridges. I reached f'orty Mile River with this survey on the 
13th March. From this point southwards there are many 
streams cut by the line, all of which are more or less gold- 
bearing and all have been more or less prospected. This ne- 
cessitated my cutting the line out continuously from P'orty Mile 
River onwards, which increased our work very much. The 
valleys traversed are generally upwards of 1,000 feet deep and 
often very steep, so that the work was exceedingly laborious. 

Transporting our outfit from cam]) to camp was often a very 
hard task as the hills were so steep ever\'thing had to be packed 
up them, which in the deep soft snow was anything but easy. 
I reached a point within two miles of Sixty Mile River on the 
14th April, and as 1 had ]^assed all the creeks of any note, and 
many of them were already running water and our way lay 
down them, I thought it well to quit work on the line and re- 
turn to Forty Mile and Cudahy, and attend to the local sun^eys 
there. The weather was line and warm, and so much water 
ran in tlie creeks by which we had to return that we could only 
travel a few hours in the early morning and forenoon. Had 
the season been more favorable I would have ^ isited (llacier 
and Miller Creeks which were generally supposed to be in 
Alaska, but are found to run in Canada for some distance. 
They are the two richest creeks yet found on the Yukon and 
are both tributaries of Sixty Mile River. Both creeks are fully 
located and worked, each claim being 500 feet along the creek 
and the width of the valley or creek bed. There are nearly 
100 claims, all of which pay well. One on Miller Creek I 
understand will yield 75 to 80 thousand dollars this season, 



KLOyDYKK FACTS. 161 

and the owner will net, it is said, between 40 and 50 thousand 
dollars. He took out, it is reported, nearly half that sum last 
year off the same claim, and expects to do equally well next 
year. This is much the richest claim yet found, but all on 
those creeks do well. There are many other creeks in this 
vicinity yet to be prospected and some will, I have no doubt, 
pay well. Gold is found all along the valley of Sixty Mile 
River, and under more favorable conditions, both mercantile 
and climatic, it would yield good results to large enterprises, 
liie mercantile conditions will improve ; the climate is a serious 
ditificulty but will be surmounted in time, I believe. Along the 
last 10 or 12 miles of the line I nin, the mountains consist 
principally of quartz and schists, which no doubt originally held 
the gold found in the valleys and doubtless hold some yet. 
Several men have taken to quartz prospecting, and from indi- 
cations which I will dwell on later I believe we are on the eve 
of some magnificent discoveries. 

The miners on all the creeks referred to have quietly ac- 
ce])ted my line as the boundary //7> /rw, and as far as I can 
learn at present the general feeling is satisfaction that one can 
now know where he is. Even if the line is not final, no one 
doubts its being very near the final position. As far as run it 
is marked by cairns of stones wherever it was possible to ])ro- 
cure them with reasonable time and labor, and is cut through 
the woods and blazed so that no one who wants to find it can 
mistake it. Another source of satisfaction to all is that they 
now know distances and directions. Many miners remark to 
me, "We now know how we are going, we can see where south 
is." In this high latitude in the summer months it is impossi- 
ble to tell when the sun is near the meridian because its change 
in altitude is so little for 8 or 9 hours, consequently any point 
between east and west was called somewhere near south. This 
helps to explain much of the variance in the direction of points 
II 



162 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

as given by miners and others who have no compass or are 
unacquainted with the use of one and the apphcation of the 
declination. 

On my arrival at Cudahy I rented two cabins from the 
N. A. T. & T. Co., to house my men and self as I would be 
around here probably until I started up the river. I did this 
because there are no convenient camping places in the vicinity, 
and in the spring all the flats are like lakes along the river 
until well into the month of June. 

After a couple of days' rest for the party, who had worked 
very hard, and after I had developed all my photographs, I 
began to attend to the local surveys, first surveying the coal 
claims on Coal Creek and making a chain traverse survey of 
the creek from the claims down to the Yukon. 



I next made a survey of the Cone hill quartz mining claim 
and a chain traverse survey of Forty Mile River from the claim 
down to the Yukon. I then went to work on the Forty Mile 
town site and Cudahy town site. The last I was asked to 
block out, which I have done. The manager, Mr. C. H. Ham- 
ilton, objected to streets 66 feet wide on such a small plot of 
ground (tliere is only about 50 acres). I read him my in- 
structions and wrote him an ofificial letter on the subject, but 
he insisted on streets only 50 feet wide and assumed all res- 
ponsibility, so I did as he desired. I made him a plot of the 
work done on the ground, and he understands that he will have 
to pay the department for the senice rendered in blocking as 
well as the original survey, and wishes a plan of it, which of 
course can only be prepared when I go out. 

I made a complete survey of Forty Mile, locating and tak- 
ing the dimensions of every house in it, and it is the worst 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 163 

jumble I ever saw. I had to do this though it entailed a great 
(leal of work, for there were so many claim holders, and there 
appeared to l)e a general distrust in the vicinity ; every man 
wants himself on record in evidence as to his claim. I have 
taken some, but I have several days' work yet. I made a sur- 
vey of the island for the Anglican mission, and of another 
island for a man named Gibson. This is in the delta of Forty 
Mile Creek, and he intends to make a market garden for the 
growth of such vegetables as the country will produce. In my 
final report I will deal as fully as my experience here will per- 
mit on that phase of the country's character. Many here have 
small gardens and are fairly successful with ordinary vegetables. 
I have advised many to correspond with the experimental farm 
at Ottawa, with a view to learning the best sort of \'egetables 
for growth in this climate. There is an application in, and the 
purchase money and cost of survey paid, for 80 acres just west 
of Cudahy town site, which I will survey in a few days. There 
is also an application in for 40 acres containing a hay swamp 
on the east side of the river, about 2 miles below here, which 
I will stirvey before starting out. There are many other appli- 
cations in, but I shall not have time to attend to them, nor 
have the i)arties asked for a survey. I think these ap])lications 
are simply intended to hold the ground until the future of this 
region is forecasted ; it certainly looks promising now. I 
would respectfully call the attention of the department to the 
fact that the ser\'ices of a surveyor are urgently needed in here 
and will be for some years to come, and I would suggest that 
one be appointed to look after and take charge of all the land 
interests in this district. He will find ])lenty to do, and any 
work outside of departmental which he might be asked to do 
(and there is much of it, and will be more in the way of 
engineering) would help materially to pay his salary which 
would of course in here have to be liberal. 



164 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

I have had several apphcations for engineering surveys, and 
I have told the parties I can only make these as an officer of 
the department, with whom they will have to settle on the 
basis of the time it took and the cost per day of the party and 
myself, should I undertake any of it, which is more than doubt- 
ful. Any surveyor so appointed will require experience in the 
taking of evidence and vvill need to be patient and attentive, 
for it is extremely difficult to make some of the people here 
understand what the)' want to know. 

Another incon\ enience is the want of a trade medium ; there 
is very little coin, nearly all business being transacted in gold 
dust, which passes current at $17 per ounce troy*, but, as most 
of it will not assay that, there is some hardship to those taking 
it out, though there may be no actual loss. If enough money were 
sent in to pay the North-west mounted police for some time it 
would help for a period at least, and would emphasize the exist- 
ence of Canada. What coin and bills are here are largely 
American. 

Another important question is the treatment of the liquor 
business, which cannot be ignored much longer ; there are 
several saloons in Forty Mile and one in Cudahy, yet there is 
no law recognizing them nor regulating them in any way. It 
would be almost impossible and very unpopular were any at- 
tempt made to close them. Liquor could not be kept out of 
the country if the whole North-west mounted ])olice were scat- 
tered around the river. 

.\nother subject which I have mentioned before is that of the 

* The net value of the gold received by the department was found to 
be only $16.50 per ounce, gcents of which were silver. Deducting freight, 
insurance, mint charges and bank commission, the amount realized is re- 
duced to $i5-77- Inspector Constantine, N. W. M. I', quotes assays by 
ihe Ignited States office at Helena, Mont., of gold from eight creeks, 
ranging from $14.46 for thi' I'pper Lewes to $17.33 for Davis Creek. 
The average is $16.12. 



KLOyDYKE FACTS. 165 

timber. Large quantities of timber are being and have been 
cut in our territory and floated down the river to American 
territory, where it is used, and Canada derives no benefit. 
Were it used to develo]) our country it would matter less ; in 
fact, I would encourage such use ; but to see the best of our 
timber taken out without any sort of benefit to the country is, 
1 think, worthy of some sort of attention. There is very little 
useful timber in the country, and much of what does exist is cut 
into fuel, while more of it goes beyond the boundary. In the 
near future we shall feel the want of it. I have spoken to the 
agent about it, but he has no authority to act, and, if he hadj 
is disinclined to run u|) and down the river looking after it un- 
less he has a steamer. 

The merchants here who ])ay duty are naturally dissatisfied 
at the smuggling done on the u|)]icr ri\er and ask for some sort 
of jirotection. It might be advisable to have a s(]uad of police 
and an officer somewhere on the lake to look after that. I am 
thoroughly convinced that a road from the coast to some ]:)oint 
on the head waters of the river, preferably by the Taku if at 
all practicable, would convert all our ])art of the river into a 
hive of industry. It may be said there is no com])etition, and 
any way in the ])resent conditions of trade things cannot be 
sold very much cheaper at a fair ])rofit. Once let a railroad 
get from some point on the coast to some point on the river so 
that we can have quick, cheap, and certain entrance and exit, 
and the whole Yukon basin will be worked. At present the 
long haul makes the expense of mining machinery practically 
prohibitive, for the cost of transport is often more than the 
first cost of the machine. 

Assays of the Cone hill ([uartz are very satisfactory, and the 
r[uantity good for generations of work ; were it on the coast 
the Treadwell mine would l)e diminutive beside it. Five tons 
of rock are being sent out from it for a mill test, and should 



166 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

they prove as satisfactory as the test of a ton sent out last year, 
I understand the parties owning it will proceed to develop it. 
If it starts and proves reasonably successful there are scores of 
other places in the country that may yield as well. An expert 
here who prospects for the N. A. T. & T. Co. found a ledge last 
spring on the Chandindu River of Schwatka (known as Twelve- 
mile Creek here) and located two full claims on it. He told 
me the assay he made of my specimens of it was much more 
satisfactory than that of Cone hill, and this ledge, he claims, is 
where a commencement should be made in quartz milling in 
this country and there would be no fear of the result. He ap- 
pears to be pretty well versed in mining lore, is a practical as- 
sayer — that is his profession — and he says he never saw or read 
of anything like it for extent in the world. He informed me 
there were extensive deposits of coal about 20 miles up the 
creek and this ledge was about 4 miles up. He has no doubt 
but that the copper around Fort Reliance will, with better 
facilities, yet be a valuable feature of the country. He showed 
me a lump of native copper some Indians said they found on 
the head of the AVhite River but could not or would not specify 
where. Speaking of White River reminds me that it and Sixty 
Mile are very close together in the vicinity of the boundary. I 
was told it was only a short walk from the creeks of one to the 
creeks of the other, but how far from stream to stream is un- 
certain. 

This expert is an American who has spent many years of his 
life in the best mining districts in the United States, and \\2 
assures me this country promises better than any he ever sa\/ 
before, and as an evidence of his satisfaction with it he is going 
to spend the rest of his life here. 

Great anxiety is felt here about a mail route and regular mail. 
Last winter 3 mails left the coast, one by the Taku route, one 
by the White Pass, and one via Taiya ; the first two got here 



Kin X DYKE FAC'Tfi. 167 

in good time, the last, (ours l)y the way) did not, nor is it 
hkely to arrive for some time — maybe never. The man in 
charge was badly frozen on the summit and had to turn back 
leaving the mail behind him and it is now probably buried in 
fathoms of snow. An Indian brought the mail in by the Taku 
and took the Slocan branch of it to Atlin lake. From what 
I learned of this route while up there it may be found to afford 
an easier way than by Teslin Lake but it has the disadvantage 
of landing on the head of the Lewes instead of the Hootalinqua 
or 'I'eslin and so takes in the canyon and White Horse Rapids. 

Last winter many of the residents and miners here talked to 
me about the mails and what the government intended in that 
direction ; of course I could tell them nothing. They made 
their views known by getting up a petition to the Minister of 
the Interior. 

The Alaska Commercial Company are putting a new and 
powerful steamer on the river, which will make four, the " Arc- 
tic," "Alice," and " Emma, large, and the " Bedon," small, 
there is some talk of the N. A. T. & T. Co., putting on a sister 
boat to the " Portus B. Weare." All are stern-wheel boats.* 

From my camera stations on the boundary I saw manv high 
mountains, some of them not less than 8,000 feet, and some I 
believe 10,000. Some of the prominent ones I have named 
after the pioneers of the country, notably one Mount Campbell 
after the late Mr. Robert Campbell of the H. B. Co., who es- 
tablished Fort Selkirk. It is about 60 miles due east of here 
and is a noteworthy peak in that it stands on top of an exten- 
sive well defined range, rising like a lofty pillar about 1,000 
feet above the ridge. It is, far as seen, the most remarkable 
l)cak in the country. I have not made any computations yet, 

* The estimates submitted at the last session of Parliament contain 
an item of $5,000 for the purchase of a steamer for the Mounted Police 
in the Yukon District. 



108 KLOXDYKE FACTS. 

but I do not think its summit is much if nny less thnn 10,000 
feet above the sea. No one noticed it before for the reason 
that it is only about 600 feet wide, is always black, and very 
distant from points where it can be seen around here. 



CuDAHY, June 25 th, 1896. 

Horses could be laid down here for, I would say, about 
1^250 per head, and the same animals ought to last the whole 
survey. Horses that have been in use here, packing to the 
mines in the summer and hauling wood in the winter for several 
years, are still serviceable, notwithstanding that they live only 
on the coarse grasses of the country. They pack 200 pounds 
apiece from Forty Miles River at the mouth of Moore Creek to 
the mines on Miller Creek (about 17 1-2 or 18 miles) and 
climb some very steep long hills on the way, taking 2 days with 
loads and one day without ; all they get to eat is what they 
find. 



My last report told you of the agent here going to Miller and 
Glacier Creeks and collecting fees and making entries ; as he 
did not go west of those creeks no complications will arise, for 
as you will see by my sketch map tliey are within Canada. I 
may say here that one claim on Miller Creek turned out about 
^70,000 last winter, and several others have done very well too. 
So far nearly all the miners have passed here, going to Circle 
City (about 200 miles down) and I have no doubt many of 
them will kee]) on going. 

About 100 miners are reported on the Hootalinqua this 



ki.oxdvkf: facts. 1G9 

summer. We shall ])r()bablv soon have to extend law and 
order there. 

Many here make gardens, using any seed they can get, 
and some are going to try grasses for fodder. I would sug- 
gest the director of the central experimental farm be asked to 
send in seeds of the kinds of ordinary vegetables and grasses 
best suited to such a climate as this, to be distributed by the 
agent here to those who will make a proper use of them, or 
for sale at cost. 1 am quite sure it would be of much service, 
and if some hints on the proper care of plants were sent in it 
would be more so, as most of the ])eople in here know prac- 
tically nothing of gartlening or farming. Besides, it would 
improve the feeling among the people here towards our coun- 
try and institutions and would cost the country jiractically 
nothing. 



CuDAHV, August rSth, 1896. 

It is now certain that coal extends along the valley of the 
Yukon from Coal Creek for 10 or i 2 miles down, and from 
Coal Creek up to Twelve Mile Creek, which flows into the 
Yukon about 30 miles above here. The latter stretch is cut 
off from the river by several miles of hills, as it is about 6 
miles direct from the river at Coal Creek and about iS on 
Twelve Mile Creek. This is the stream named Chandindu by 
Schwatka. There is a seam ou ii about 6 feet thick as re- 
ported by an exy)ert who went in search of it. I foimci drift 
coal on the south branch of Coal Creek. 

On the Cornell claim on Cliff Creek the seam is 5 feet 4 
inches thick. I have sent specimens of it out. I found it 
necessary to refer to the different creeks so had to name them 



170 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

" Shell Creek," because I found a stone with a shell impres- 
sion at its mouth ; " Cliff Creek," because it enters the river 
at the foot of a high cliff ; and " Flat Creek," because it enters 
the river in a large flat. 

Glacier Greek is turning out very well, and several good 
creeks have been discovered up Forty Mile in x\laska. 



CuDAHY, 6 th September, 1896. 

I have been in hourly expectation of the Canadian mail for 
some days now, but it has not arrived yet. The A. C. Co.'s 
Steamer " Alice " came up on the fourth instant, but brought 
no news for me, so that I am completely in the dark as to my 
movements yet, and if I am to go out it is time I was on the 
way. I do not wish to remain here another winter unless it is 
absolutely necessary ; more especially with my party and all 
its expenses. In case I go out, I will try to accompany Mr. 
J. Dalton over his trail from the head of Chilkat Inlet to 
Selkirk on the Yukon. He has made several trips over that 
route with horses and packs and speaks very highly of it. I 
will make a rough survey of it and take some photographs 
along the route. 

I have taken copious notes of it from him, but would like 
to see it for myself. 

I am very much pleased to be able to inform you that a 
most important discovery of gold has been made on a creek 
called Bonanza Creek, an affluent of the river known here as 
the Klondyke.* It is marked on the maps extant as Deer 
River and joins the Yukon a few miles above the site of Fort 
Reliance. 

The discovery was made by G. W. Cormack, who worked 

* The correct name is Thron Diuck, 



KLOXDVKE FACTS. 171 

with me in 1887 on the coast range. The indications are that 
it is very rich, indeed the richest yet found, and as far as work 
has been carried on it reahzes expectations. It is only two 
weeks since it was known, and already about 200 claims have 
been staked on it and the creek is not yet exhausted : it and 
its branches are considered good for 300 to 400 claims. Be- 
sides there are two other creeks above it which it is confi- 
dently expected will yield good pay, and if they do so we have 
from 800 to 1 ,000 claims on this river which will require over 
2,000 men for their proper working. Between Thron-Diuck 
River and Stewart River a large creek called Indian Creek 
flows into the Yukon and rich prospects have been found on 
it, and no doubt it is in the gold-bearing country between 
Thron-Diuck and Stewart Riveis, which is considered by all 
the old miners the best and most extensive gold country yet 
found. Scores of them would prospect it but for the fact that 
they cannot get provisions up there and it is too far to boat 
them up from here in small boats. 

This new find will necessitate an upward step on the Yukon, 
and help the Stewart River region. 

News has just arrived from Bonanza Creek that three men 
worked out $75 in four hours the other day, and a $12 nugget 
has been found, which assures the character of the ground, 
namely, coarse gold and plenty of it, as three times this can 
be done with sluice boxes. You can fancy the excitement 
here. It is claimed that from $100 to $500 per day can be 
made off the ground that has been prospected so far. As we 
have about too claims on Glacier and Miller Creeks, with 
three or four hundred in this vicinity, next year it is impera- 
tive that a man be sent in here to look after these claims and 
all land matters, and it is almost imperative that the agent be a 
sur\-eyor. Already on Bonanza Creek they are disputing 
about the size of claims. 



172 l^L ONT) YKE FA C'TS. 

I would have gone up and laid out the claims properly, but 
it would take me ten or twelve days to do so, and meantime 
my presence might be more urgently required elsewhere. 

Another important matter is the appointment ol" some sort 
of legal machinery here. Before the ])olice came miners' meet- 
ing administered justice, collected debts, etc., etc. ; now the 
magistrates here are expected to do all that, and when it 
is found that they do not it causes much dissatisfaction, and 
there are several cases of real hardship where parties will not 
pav their just debts though able to do so. If a miners' meet- 
ing were held and judgment given against the delincpient it 
would do no good for he would and does resist jjayment, and 
were force resorted to he would ai)])eal to the police for protec- 
tion. A continuation of this state of affairs is most undesirable 
in the interest of our country, for we have a reputation as a 
justice-administering, law-abiding people to maintain, and 
I would urge ntlv ])ress this matter on the authorities. 

From the indications 1 have mentioned it would be seen 
that this corner of the North-west is not going to be the least 
important part of it, more especially when we tonsider the fact 
that gold-bearing quartz has been found in it at numerous 
places and much will no doubt l)e worked. It i^ a])parent 
that the revenue and business of the countrv will more than 
offset the expense of administration. 

I cannot here enter into the reasons for it, but 1 unhesitat- 
ingly make the assertion that this corner of our territorv from 
the coast strip down and from the 141st meridian eastward 
will be found to be a fairlv ri< h and %erv extensi\e mining 
region. 

As I have already pretty fully reported on coal, I will onlv 
add that it is reported in abundance only 8 miles up the 
Chandindu River, where a seam over 6 feet thick has been 
found of the same (juality as that already described. 



KLOXJWKi: r.ifTS. 173 

CuDAiiY, November 6th, 1S96. 

Your official letter informing me that negotiations for a 
joint sursey of the 141st meridian had so far failed, and that I 
had better return to Ottawa for the winter, reached me here on 
the nth of September. As the Alaska Commercial Com- 
pany's steamer "Arctic" was then hourly expected up the 
river on her way to Selkirk, I thought it best to wait and go up 
on her to that point. Day after day passed witliout anv sign 
of her ; wearied of waiting, and hopeless of her arri\al at all 
this year, I determined to start out on the 27 th of September, 
a late date but with fair conditions feasible. On the 25th a 
tremendous storm of snow set in which so chilled the river 
that in a few days after it was choked with ice which precluded 
all idea of getting u]) the river, and it was equally hopeless 
down the river. 

Three parties have announced their intention of starting for 
the outside world about the ist prox., and I write this con- 
templating its transmission by one or other of these parties. 
For myself to think of going out in the winter is, 1 think, un- 
wise, for the following reasons: — Dogs, the only means of 
transport, are scarce and dear, ranging from S30 or $40 to 
Si 25 apiece. Dog food, like all other food, is scarce, by 
reason of the poor salmon run in the ri\er last season — ])rac- 
tically none were caught near here — and the result is the dog 
tiwners here have to use bacon for food, which at 25 to 40 cts. 
l)er i^ound, is expensive. 

I would require a team of eight dogs to take my outfit anil 
mv man Fawcett with our jirovisions and the dogs' food as far 
as Taiva. There the dogs would have to be abandoned or 
killed, as they are worthless on the coast, except to parties 
coming in here early in the season. Starting from here say 
December ist, it would be February before 1 reached Ottawa, 



174 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

and during 35 or 40 days of this time we would be exposed to 
much cold and hardship and some hazard from storms. 

The journey has been made, and I would not hesitate to 
undertake it were things more reasonable here and dog food 
plentiful, but it would take at least $1,000 to equip me with 
transport and outfit, which sum, I think, I can expend more 
in the interests of the country by remaining here and making 
a survey of the Klondak of the miners — a mispronunciation of 
the Indian word or words "Thron-dak" or " diuck," which 
means plenty of fish, from the fact that it is a famous salmon 
stream. It is marked Tondak on our maps. It joins the 
Yukon from the east, a few miles above the site of Fort Re- 
liance, about 50 miles above here. As I have already in- 
timated, rich placer mines of gold were discovered on the 
branches of this stream. The discovery, I believe, was due to 
the reports of Indians. A white man named George W. Cor- 
mack, who worked with me in 1887, was the first to take ad- 
vantage of the rumors and locate a claim on the first branch, 
which was named by the miners Bonanza Creek. Cormack 
located late in August, but had to cut some logs for the mill 
here to get a few pounds of provisions to enable him to begin 
work on his claim. The fishing at Thron-Diuck having totally 
failed him, he returned with a few weeks' provisions for him- 
self, his wife and brother-in-law (Indians) and another Indian 
in the last days of August, and immediately set about working 
his claim. As he was very short of appliances he could only 
put together a rather defective apparatus to wash the gravel 
with. The gravel itself he had to carry in a box on his back 
from 30 to 100 feet ; notwithstanding this, the three men 
working very irregularly, washed out $1,200 in eight days, and 
Cormack asserts with reason that had he had proper facilities 
it could have been done in two days, besides having several 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 175 

hundred dollars more gold which was lost in the tailings 
through defective apparatus. 

On the same creek two men rocked out $75 in about four 
hours, and it is asserted that two men in the same creek took 
out $4,000 in two days with only two lengths of sluice boxes. 
This last is doubted, but Mr. ladue assures me he weighed 
that much gold for them, but is not positive where they got it. 
They were new comers and had not done much in the country, 
so the probabilities are they got it on Bonanza Creek. A 
branch of Bonanza named Eldorado has prospected magni- 
ficently, and another branch named Tilly Creek has prospected 
well ; in all there are some four or five branches to Bonanza 
which have given good prospects. There are about 170 claims 
staked on the main creek, and the branches are good for about 
as many more, aggregating say 350 claims, which will re([uire 
over 1,000 men to work properly. 

A few miles farther up Bear Creek enters Thron-Diuck, and 
it has been prospected and located on. Compared with 
Bonanza it is small, and will not afford more than 20 or 30 
claims, it is said. About 1 2 miles above the mouth Gold- 
bottom Creek joins Thron-Diuck, and on it and a Inanch 
named Hunker Creek (after the discoverer) very rich ground 
has been found. One man showed me $22.75 he took out in 
a few hours on Hunker Creek with a gold pan, ])rospecting his 
claim on the surface, taking a handful here and there as fancy 
suggested. On Gold-bottom Creek and branches there will 
probably be 200 or 300 claims. The Indians have reported 
another creek much farther up, which they call " Too much 
gold creek," on which the gold is so plentiful that, as the 
miners say in joke, " you have to mix gravel with it to 
sluice it." 

From all this we may, I tliink, infer that we have here a dis- 
trict which will give 1,000 claims of 500 feet in length each. 



176 KLOyUYKE FACTS. 

Now, i,ooo such claims will require at least 3,000 men to 
work them properly, and as wages for working in the mines are 
from 12 to 15 dollars per day without board, we have every 
reason to assume that this ]3art of our territory will in a year or 
two contain 10,000 souls at least. For the news has gone out 
to the coast and an unprecedented influx is expected next 
spring.* And this is not all, for a large creek called Indian 
Creek joins the Yukon about midway between Thron-Diuck 
and Stewart Rivers, and all along this creek good pay has been 
found. All that has stood in the way of working it heretofore 
has been the scarcity of provisions and the difficulty of getting 
them up there even when here. Indian Creek is quite a large 
stream and it is probable it will yield five or six hundred claims. 
Further south yet lies the head of several branches of vStewart 
River on which some j)rospecting has been done this summer 
and good indications found, l)ut tlie want of |)rovisions pre- 
vented development. Now gold has been found in several of 
the streams joining Pelly River, and also all along the Hoota- 
linqua. In the line of these finds farther south is the Cassiar 
gold field in British Columbia ; so the presumption is that we 
have in our territory along the easterly water-shed of the Yukon 
a gold-bearing belt of indefinite width, and upwards of 300 
miles long, exclusive of the Uritisli Columbia part of it. On 
the westerly side of the Yukon pros]:)ecting has been done on a 
creek a short distance abo\e Selkirk with a fair amoimt of suc- 
cess, and on a large creek some 30 or 40 miles below Selkirk 
fair prospects have been found ; but, as before remarked, the 

* A feature of this year's immigration is that it includes many women 
and children. The correspondent of a western paper, writing from the 
Chilkoot pass at the beginning <>f last numth, says :" To go along the 
trail, one would think the peoplr were l)inuKl for a farming country, 
there are horses, plonglis, wheelliarrows, three mowing machines, coops 
of chickens, etc,'" 



KL oyn YKE FA CIS. 177 

diffi( ulty of getting supplies here prevents any extensive or 
extended j)rosj)ecting. 

Dalton informed me he had found good ])rospects on a 
small treek nearly midway between the coast range and Selkirk 
in his route. His man showed mc some coarse gold, about a 
dollar's worth, he found on the head of a branch of the Altsek 
River near the head of Chilkat Inlet, which is inside the sum- 
mit of the coast range and of course in our territory. From 
this you will gather that we ha\c a very large area all more or 
less gold-bearing and which will all yet be worked. 

Good quartz has been found in places just across the line on 
Davis Creek, but of what extent is unknown as it is in the bed 
of the creek and covered with gravel, dood (|uart/ is also re- 
l)orted on the hills around Bonanza Creek, but o\ this 1 will be 
able to si)eak more fully after my ])r()p;)scd survev. It is 
l)retty certain from information I have uot from ])rospectors 
that all or nearly all of the northerlv branch of White River 
is on our side of the line, and copper is found on it, but more 
abundantly on the southerly branch of which a great ])ortion is 
in our territory also, so it is probable we have that metal too. 
I have seen here several hmipsof copper brought by the natives 
from White River, but just from what ]iart is uncertain. I have 
also seen a s]jecimen of silver ore said to have been ])icked up 
in a creek flowing into I.ake Bennet, about 14 miles down it, 
on the east side. 

I think this is enough to sht)w that we mav look forward 
with confitlence to a fairly bright future for this ])art of our 
territory'. 

When it was fairly established that lionanza Creek was rich 
in gold, which took a few days, for Thron-Diuck had been 
prospected several times with no encouraging result, there was 
a great rush from all over the countrv adjacent to Fortv Mile. 
The town was almost deserted : men who had been in a 

\2 



178 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

chronic state of drunkenness for weeks were pitched into boats 
as ballast and taken up to stake themselves a claim, and claims 
were staked by men for their friends who were not in the 
country at the time. All this gave rise to such conflict and 
confusion, there being no one present to take charge of matters, 
the agent being unable to go up and attend to the thing, and 
myself not yet knowing what to do, that the miners held a 
meeting, and appointed one of themselves to measure off and 
stake the claims, and record the owners' names in connection 
therewith, for which he got a fee of $2, it being of course 
understood that each claim holder would have to record his 
claim with the Dominion agent and pay his fee of ^15. 

At the same meeting they discussed our law on mining, and 
discovered, as they thought, that it was very defective. They 
ai>pointed a committee to wait on the agent and ask him to 
ratify their course in appointing the surveyor and recorder to 
act />ro tan on the creek and to forward their views on the law 
to the department at Ottawa. Now, it appears to me that a 
good deal of fault of the law as they found it lay in the fact 
that they did not read it all in its proper connection ; and be- 
cause the printed law did not start out from a given point and 
detail consecutively just what was to be done under every pos- 
sible contingency that might arise under that heading they 
thought it defective. I believe this to be the case because I 
have never had any difficulty in explaining any case that has 
been submitted to me for an opinion, and there have been a 
good many. 

The miners as a rule are dissatisfied with the claims laid out 
for them by their own surveyor appointed as I have already 
intimated, and many of them are claiming for a remeasurement 
now that they know that I am going to make a survey of the 
creeks. In fact many of them thought that a survey of the 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 179 

creeks necessarily meant a survey and adjustment of the claims, 
and it took me some time to correct that impression. I made 
them understand that as the claims had been laid out by their 
own act and had been approved of by the agent I could not 
interfere without the consent and approval of all the original 
parties to the act, and they would have to meet and discuss the 
question and determine whether they would have them ad- 
justed or not. If they decide to have it done I made them 
understand they would have to assist me at work as I passed 
along. If they do not require it I will take the necessary steps 
to enable me to plot very closely where every claim is. I may 
make a good deal of the survey by photography as I have about 
ten dozen good plates yet. In any case I will occupy several 
l)hoto stations to enable me to give some idea of the mountain 
ranges around — if any — and supplement my views from the 
boundary last winter. As soon as this work is done all my 
men will take their discharge, Adam Fawcett going into the 
service of the Alaska Commercial Company, and all the rest 
mining. 

If you want any further surveys made in here men will have 
to be sent in to do it, for men cannot be had here for less than 
from ^5 to ^lo per day. Any man sent in for survey purposes 
will reciuire to bring a good canoe with him, say 19 feet long 
and 44 inches wide, and 18 to 20 deep. Such a canoe will 
bring in 5 or 6 men and their stock of provisions for the trip. 
By the time they would arrive here provisions will be plentiful, 
for the boats will then be up from Circle City where two of 
them are probably wintering. A party crossing the summit 
early in June would just about find the lakes open for the run 
down. You might warn any such party that they had better 
nm no risk at the Canon, White Horse and Five Fingers. The 
Canon is not dangerous, but there is a good portage past it. 
The rapids between it and the White Horse are rough in high 



180 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

water but with care are safe. A great many large boats run 
the White Horse, but most of them take more or less water ; 
many fill altogether, and the owners are often drowned ; in 
any case they lose all their effects if they do escape. A care- 
ful estimate of those drowned in 1895 places the number at 
13, a large percentage, I think of those who tried it. The 
Five Fingers are at some stages of the water uncertain. Last 
time I came down I found it very nice on the left side — no 
danger at all, while boats passing the right side took in water. 
In every case the party in charge will do well to carefully examine 
beforehand all the points named. Should you deem it advis- 
able for myself to return early in the summer, I will have to 
make my way around by the mouth, as I will have no men to 
help me up stream, and no one will be ascending the river un- 
til near September, and indeed very few do at all now. Any 
party coming in would reasonably be expected in before I 
started down, and I could confer with them on the work to be 
done should you deem it advisable to do so. 

In the course of a year I believe coal will supersede wood 
for fuel, which will relieve the demand as far as the towns and 
villages are concerned ; but mining interests will require a lot 
of fuel where coal cannot be taken. 

The traffic in liquor will have to be taken hold of and reg- 
ulated at once ; it is here now and cannot be kept out by any 
reasonably practical means. The majority — the great majority 
of miners — will have it, and all the more will their predilection 
be if it is attempted to stop the entry of it. 

In my opinion it is imperative that this business be brought 
under control at once, or it may develop phases that will be at 
least annoying in the near future. 

I have in previous reports intimated that some sort of legal 
machinery is now absolutely necessary for the trial of cases of 
contract, collection of debts and generally the judicial interests 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 181 

of the country. There are several cases of hardship now for 
the want of a proper court. 

If some sort of court to satisfy the necessities of the people 
in business here is not at once established serious inconven- 
ience will result. The ofificer appointed will require to be a 
hale vigorous person, for it is probable he will have to make 
journeys of considerable length across unoccui)ie(l country, in 
the discharge of his duty. 

There have been several applications for land in the vicinity 
of the mouth of the Thron-Diuck, and Inspector Constantino 
has selected a reserv-e for government purposes at the conflu- 
ence of that stream with the Yukon 40 acres in extent. 

A court or ofTfice of record in real estate transactions will 
require to be opened here at once. A recorder was appointed 
in Forty Mile and a plot made in 1884. In anticipation of my 
going out this fall I got a meeting held of the property owners 
and had them hand the records over to me for the information 
of the department. They are in my possession yet, and I will 
take them out with me when I go. I'hey are rather crude in 
form and require an initiate to understand them. I act as 
recorder//-*? tcin. 



Before closing I may say that every report that comes in 
from Bonanza Creek is more encouraging than the last. Pros- 
pecting has only begun, and up to date of mailing, November 
2 2d, very rich prospects have been found on the few claims 
prospected on : from one dollar to the pan of dirt up to twelve 
dollars are reported and no bed rock found yet. This means 
from $1,000 to $12,000 per day per man sluicing. 

The excitement is intense but at this season of the year it is 
naturally very local. 



182 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

I expect a mail will be starting from here in January and I 
will try and send out a short report by it embracing events up 
to date. 

C//(/a/iy, <)th. December, 1896. 

A mail left here for the outside on the 27 th ultimo by which 
I sent you an interim report, which will probably reach you in 
January. From it you will learn how I came to be caught in 
the country and why I have not attempted to get out in the 
winter. As you are as likely to get that report as you are this 
one, I refrain from repeating more here than to say that should 
it be necessary for me to go out before summer I will try 
and get out by dog team, starting in the last of February or 
early in March when the days are long and the weather mild, 
getting out say early in May. 

Since my last the prospects on Bonanza Creek and tribu- 
taries are increasing in richness and extent until now it is cer- 
tain that millions will be taken out of the district in the next 
few years. 

On some of the claims prospected the pay dirt is of great 
extent and very rich. One man told me yesterday that he 
washed out a single pan of dirt on one of the claims on Bon- 
anza and found ^14.25 in it. Of course that may be an ex- 
ceptionally rich pan, but ^5 to $7 per pan is the average on 
that claim it is reported, with 5 feet of pay dirt and the width 
yet undetermined, but it is known to be 30 feet even at that : 
figure the result at 9 to 10 pans to the cubic foot, and 500 feet 
long; nearly $4,000,000 at ^^5 per pan — one-fourth of this 
would be enormous. 

Another claim has been prospected to such an extent that it 
is known there is about 5 feet pay dirt averaging $2 per pan 
and width not less than 30 feet. Enough prospecting has 



KL ONB TKE FA CTS. 183 

been done to show that there are at least 15 miles of this 
extraordinary richness ; and the indications are that we will 
have 3 or 4 times that extent, if not all equal to the above at 
least very rich. 

I think the department should get large posters printed on 
which shall be shown the sections of the law governing the 
location and recording of quartz and placer mines, the ex- 
tent of each, the duties of miners, in both cases, and the rul- 
ings of the department on the questions I have submitted, with 
the penalties attached to offences against the law. Some of 
these should be printed on stout paper or parchment capable 
of standing exposure to the weather, and posted at every im- 
])ortant point in the country so that there may be no excuse 
hereafter for ignorance. 

A large number of copies of the Mining Act, Land Act, and 
timber and hay lands regulations should also be sent in. 

As to the extent of mining districts they should I think be 
made large, and section 2 1 amended to enable a man who has 
located a claim which does not pay a reasonable return on 
outlay the first season after his claim has been prospected, to 
make a second location in the same locality or district provided 
he can find one in it. The agent would have to determine 
whether or not he had expended the proper amount of labor 
on his claim to get reasonable returns ; this I know opens the 
door for a lot of trouble and may be fraud, but on the other 
hand a great many worthy men suffer from the want of some' 
such regulation, and as very few would be in a position to take 
advantage of such a provision until after their second season, 
there would hardly be anything left for them to take. Enter- 
prising industrious men who would work almost continuously 
might get some benefit — probably would — but no others, so 
such a regulation could not do very much harm and might help 
some deserving people. As it is now men stake claims on 



184 ELONDYKE FACTS. 

nearly every new find, some having several claims in the Thron- 
Diuck locality. They know, I believe, that they will not be 
able to hold them, but as the localities are not yet clearly de- 
fined they can hold on to them for a while and finally by col- 
lusion with others acquire an interest in them. 

The miners here are I understand getting up a petition to 
the Minister asking for aid in opening a way from the south 
and building along it shelter for winter travellers, with suitable 
supplies scattered along. 

As it is now a winter's trip out from here is on account of 
the long haul and want of shelter tedious and hazardous, and 
their representations are worthy of consideration. 

The following letters written so far back as January will prove 
most interesting. 

Ciidahy, nth January, 1897. 

The reports from the Klondyke region are still very encour- 
aging ; so much so that all the other creeks around are practi- 
cally abandoned, especially those on the head of Forty Mile in 
American territory, and nearly one hundred men have made 
their way up from Circle City, many of them hauling their sleds 
themselves. Those who cannot get claims are buying in on 
those already located. Men cannot be got to work for love or 
money, and development is consequently slow ; one and a half 
dollars per hour is the wages paid the few men who have to 
work for hire, and work as many hours as they like. Some of 
the claims are so rich that every night a few pans of dirt suf- 
fices to pay the hired help when there is any : as high as $204 
has been reported to a single pan, but this is not generally 
credited. Claim owners are now very reticent about what 
they get, so you can hardly credit anything you hear ; but one 
thing is certain we have one of the richest mining areas ever 



KLONDYKE FACTS. 185 

found, with a fair prospect that we have not yet discovered its 
limits. 

Miller and Glacier Creeks on the head of Sixty Mile River, 
which my smvey of the 141st meridian determined to be in 
Canada, were thought to be very rich, but they are poor both 
in quality and quantity compared with Klondyke. 

Chicken Creek on the head of Forty Mile, in Alaska, dis- 
covered a year ago and rated very high, is to-day practically 
abandoned. 



Some quartz prospecting has been done in Klondyke 
region, and it is probable that some good veins will be found 
there. Coal is found on the upper part of Klondyke ; so 
that the facilities for working it if found are good and con- 
venient. 



Ciidahy, 23d Januar}', 1897. 

I have just heard from a reliable source that the quartz men- 
tioned above is rich, as tested, over one hundred dollars to the 
ton. The lode appears to run from 3 to 8 feet in thickness 
and is about 19 miles from the Yukon River. I will likely be 
called on to sur%-ey it, and will be able to report fully. 

Placer prospects continue more and more encouraging and 
extraordinary. It is beyond doubt that 3 pans on different 
claims on Eldorado turned out $204, $212, and $2\(i \ but it 
must be borne in mind that there were only three such pans, 
though there are many running from $10 to $50. 



186 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

I have been repeatedly asked what I think of the present 
rush to the gold regions, and I have to say that I regret it 
exceedingly. For this season of the year, I think it very 
bad indeed, and that there will be a great amount of hard- 
ship and suffering. I do not recommend any one to at- 
tempt to make the trip until March 15. 

There is unquestionably room for a great many people 
in that district, but already too many have left for the 
hard winter trip that must be taken before Dawson City 
can be reached. I have made the trip many times and 
know whereof I speak, and shall certainly not attempt to 
return till after March 1st, 1898. 

Dawson City is now the most important point in the new 
mining regions. Its population in June, 1897, exceeded 
4,000 ; by June Jiext it cannot be less than 25,000. It has 
a saw-mill, stores, churches, of the Presbyterian, Baptist, 
Methodist and Roman Catholic denominations. It is the 
headquarters of the Canadian "Northwest Mounted Police, 
and perfect Jaw and order is maintained. 

It is at Dawson that the prospector files liis claims with 
the Ciovernment Gold Commissioner, in tlio recording 
offices. 

Dawson faces on one of tlie banks of the Yukon Kiver, 
and now occupies about a mile of the bank. It is at the 
junction of the Klondyke Ch-eek vv'ith the Yukon Kiver. 
It is here where the most valuable mining claims are being 
operated on a scale of profit that the Avorld lias hitherto 
never known. The entire country surrounding is teeming 
with mineral wealth. 

Copper, silver and coal can be found in large quantities, 
but little or no attention is now being jjuid to these valu- 
able minerals, as every one is engaged in gold-hunting and 
working the extraordinary filacer mining claims already 
located. 



KLONBYKE FACTS. 187 

The entire section is given up to placer mining. Very 
few claims had been filed for quartz mining. The fields of 
gold will not be exhausted in the near future. No man can 
tell what the end will be. From January to Aprils 1897, 
about $4,000,000 were taken out of the few placer claims 
then being worked. This was done in a territory not ex- 
ceeding forty square miles. All these claims are located 
on Klondyke Eiver and the little tributaries emptying into 
it, and the districts are known as Big Bonanza, Gold 
Bottom and Hunker. 

I have asked old aiid experienced miners at Dawson, 
who mined through California in Bonanza days, and some 
who mined in Australia, what they thought of the Klon- 
dyke region, and their reply has invariably been : '' The 
world never saw so vast and rich a find of gold as we are 
working now." 

Daw^son City is destined to be the greatest mining centre 
in the histoiy of mining operations. 

The entire country is teeming with mineral wealth. 
Co})pcr, silver, as well as coal, can be found in large quan- 
tities but little or no attention is being paid at present to 
these minerals, as everybody's mind is bent on getting gold. 

When mining operations commence on coal it will be 
specially valuable for steamers on the various rivers and 
greatly assist transportation facilities. 

In the next few years there Avill certainly be recorded 
the most marvellous discoveries in this territory usually 
thought to be only a land of snow and ice and fit only to 
be classed Avith the Arctic regions. 

It is marvellous to state that for some years past we 
have been finding gold in occasional places in this territory, 
but from the poverty of the people no effort was made to 
prospect among the places reported. 

It is mv belief that the greatest finds of gold will not be 



188 KLONDYKE FACTS. 

made in this territory. It is safe to say that not 2 per 
cent, of all the gold discovered so far has been on United 
States soil. 

The great mass of the work has been done on the North- 
west territory which is under the Canadian Government. 

It is possible, however, that further discoveries will be 
made on American soil, but it is my opinion that the most 
valuable discoveries Avill be further east and south of the 
present claims, and we would advise prospectors to work 
east and south of Klondyke. 

From the very clear map shown in this work and which 
takes in the jiresent gold regions, it will be seen that 
Dawson City is at the junction of the Klondyke River, 
marked on the map " Thron-Diuck." 

The mining claims commence within 2^ miles from 
Dawson City on the Klondyke and follow the stream on 
both sides to " Too Much Gold Creek," All the tributary 
streams on the Klondyke such as " Too Much Gold Creek," 
Hunker's Creek, Gold Bottom, Last Chance, and Bear 
Creek, Bould's Bonanza, and Eldorado are now being 
worked by the miners. 

The richest of these is Eldorado, Gold Bottom, Hunker 
and "Too Much Gold Creek." All of them, however, are 
exceptionally rich for placer mining. It is reported that 
the least known as yet of these, " Too Much Gold Creek" 
Avill probably be the most valuable in the region. It is the 
most distant from Dawson City. 

THE TOO-MUCH-GOLD RIVER, 

Which the Indians report to be situated beyond, and to be far richer tlian the 

Klondyke. 

Far up the stern-precipiced Klondyke, 

In the Arctic drear, we are told. 
There speeds a mysterious river, 

" The River of Too Much Gold." 



ELONDYKE FACTS. 189 

O say, ye powers of darkness ! 

Did the Yukon Indians dream 
The longing they roused in our heart-chords 

When they named us that hidden stream ? 

There once was an El Dorado 

Men crazed their lives to behold ; 
But what ^vas the merelj'^ Golden 

To the River of Too Much Gold? 

O, if we could stand on its border, 

And after our sacks were distent, 
Kick round us still beaches of nuggets, 

Would we feel we could then be content ? 

Would we feel, as we shouldered our million, — 

Pledge of pleasures ten thousand fold. 
That even then this river 

W^as a River of Too Much Gold ? 

Or when will the heart of mortal 

Be ready to cry • ' Enough ! " 
And what is the use of the struggle 

For the " stuff " if it does not stuff? 

But however it be, I am longing 

As though it would free me from care. 
For the banks of that Arctic river, 

And a little of what is there. 

W. D. LiGHTHALL. 



APPENDIX. 



Excerpts from the Mining Laws of the Northwest 
Territories. 



definition of terms used in mining. 



''Mine/' "placer mine," and "diggings" shall be syn- 
onymous terms and shall mean any natural stratum or 
bed of earth, gravel or cement mined for gold or other 
precious minerals : 

" Placer claim " shall mean the personal right of property 
or interest in any placer mine ; and in the term "■ min- 
ing property " shall be included every placer claim, 
ditch, or water right used for placer mining purposes, 
and all other things belonging thereto or used in the 
working thereof. Placer claims shall be divided into 
creek diggings, bar diggings, dry diggings, bench dig- 
gings, and hill diggings : 

" Creek diggings" shall mean any mine in the bed of any 
river, stream or ravine, excepting bar diggings : 

" Bar diggings " shall mean any mine over which a river 

extends when in its flooded state : 

191 



1 92 APPENDIX. 

•' Dry diggings " sliall mean any mine over which a river 
never extends : 

'' Bench diggings" sliall mean any mine on a bench, and 
shall, for the purpose of defining the size of a claim in 
bench diggings, be excepted from "^dry diggings : " 

"Hill diggings" shall mean any mine on the surface of a 
hill, and fronting on any natural stream or ravine : 

" Streams and ravines" shall include all natural water- 
courses, whether usually containing water or not, and 
all rivers, creeks and gulches : 

*^ Ditch " shall include a flume, pipe, race, or other arti- 
ficial means for conducting water by its own weight, 
to be nsed for mining purposes : 

" Ditch head " shall mean the point in a natural water- 
course or lake where water is first taken into a ditch : 

"Free miner" shall mean a person, or joint stock 
company, or foreign company named in, and lawfully 
possessed of, a valid existing free miner's certificate, 
and no other : 

"Legal post" shall mean a stake standing not less than 
four feet above the ground, and squared or faced on 
four sides for at least one foot from the top, and each 
side so squared or faced shall measure at least four 
inches on its face so far as squared or faced, or any 
stump or tree cut off and squared or faced to the 
above height and size : 

" Kecord," "register," and " registration,'' shall have the 
same meaning, and shall mean an entry in some offi- 
cial book kept for that purj^ose : 

" Eecord," when used without qualifying words showing 



APPEMJIX. 193 

that a different matter is referred to, sliall be taken to 
refer to the record of the location of a pUicer claim : 

*' Full interest " shall mean any placer claim of the full 
size, or one of several shares into which a mine may 
be equally divided : 

"■'Close season "' shall mean the period of the year during 
which })lacer claims in any district are laid over by the 
(rold Commissioner of that district : 

*' Cause " shall include any suit or action : 

'' Judgment shall include " order " or " decree'^ : 

*' Ileal estate " sliall mean any placer mineral land held in 
fee simple. 



MISCELLANEOUS REGULATIOXS. 

1. Tlie Minister of the Interior shall, from time to time, 
as he may think fit, declare the boundaries of mineral and 
mining districts, and shall cause a description of the same 
to be published in the Canada Gazette. 

'L The Minister of the Interior may direct mineral and 
mining locations to be laid out within such districts wher- 
ever, from report of the Director of the Geological Survey, 
or from other information, he has reason to believe there 
are mineral deposits of economic value, and may sell the 
same to api)licants therefor, who, in his opinion, are able 
and intend in good faith to work the same ; or, he may 
from time to time, cause the said locations to be sold by 
public auction or tender. Such sales shall be for cash, 
and at prices in no case lower than those prescribed for 
locations sold to original discoverers, and shall otherwise 
be subject to all the provisions of these Regulations. 
13 



194 APPENDIX. 

3. The Minister of the Interior may grant to any person 
or persons who haA^e a mining location and are actively de- 
veloping the same, an additional location adjacent to and 
not exceeding it in area, provided the person or jiersons 
holding snch location shall show to the satisfaction of the 
Minister of the Interior that the vein or lode being devel- 
oped on the location will probably extend ontside of either 
of the vertical lines forming the side boundaries of the 
location before it has reached the depth at which it can be 
profitably mined. 

4. Persons desirous of obtaining quarries for stone on 
vacant Dominion Lands may do so under these Eegulations ; 
but the Minister of the Interior may require the payment 
of a royalty not exceeding five per cent, on account of the 
sales of tlie product of such quarries, or the land may be 
sold not subject to such royalty at such price as may be 
determined. 

5. Eeturns shall be made by the grantee, sworn to by 
him, or by his agent or other employe in charge of the 
mine, at monthly or other such intervals as may be re- 
quired by the Minister of the Interior, of all products of 
liis mining location and of the price or amount he received 
for the same. 

G. The Minister of the Interior shall have the power to 
summarily order any mining works to be so carried on as 
not to interfere with or endanger the safety of the public, 
any public work or highway, or any mining property, 
mineral lands, mining* claims, bed-rock drains or flumes ; 
and any abandoned works may, by his order, be either 
filled up or guarded to his satisfaction, at the cost of the 
parties who may have constructed the same, or in their 
absence upon such terms as he shall think fit. 



APPENDIX. 195 

7. The Snjierintendent of Mines, acting under instruc- 
tions to be from time to time issued by the Minister of the 
Interior, shall cause to be laid out, at tlie exj^ense of the 
person or persons applying for the same, a space of ground 
for dejiosits of leavings and deads from any tunnel, claim 
or mining ground. 

FORFEITURE. 

8. In the event of the breach of these Eegulations, or 
any of them by any j^erson holding a grant for Quartz or 
Placer Mining from the Crown other than Crown Patents, 
or from the Minister of the Interior, or from any duly 
authorized officer of Dominion Lands, such right or grant 
shall be absolutely forfeited ipso facto, and the person so 
offending shall be incapable thereafter of acquiring any 
such right or grant, unless for sj^ecial cause it is otherwise 
decided bv the Minister of the Interior. 



RIGHTS AXD DUTIES OF MIXERS. 

1. The forms of application for a grant for placer min- 
ing, and the grant of the same, shall be those contained in 
forms H and I. 

2. The entry of every holder of a grant for placer mining 
must be renewed and his receipt relinquished and replaced 
every year, the entry fee being paid each time. 

3. No miner shall receive a grant of more than one min- 
ing claim in the same locality, but the same miner may 
hold any number of claims by purchase, and any number 
of miners may unite to work their claims in common upon 
such terms as they may arrange, provided such agreement 



196 APPENDIX. 

be registered with tlie Agent, and a fee paid for each reg- 
istration. 

4. Any miner or miners may sell, mortgage, or dispose 
of his or their claims, provided such disposal be registered 
with, and a fee of two dollars paid to the Agent who shall 
thereupon give the assignee a certificate. 

5. Every miner shall, during the continuance of his 
grant, have the exclusive right of entry upon his own 
claim, for the miner-like working thereof, and the con- 
struction of a residence thereon, and shall be entitled ex- 
clusively to all the proceeds realized therefrom ; but he 
shall have no surface rights therein ; and the Superinten- 
dent of Mines may grant to the holders of adjacent claims 
such right of entry thereon as may be absolutely necessary 
for the working of their claims, ujion such terms as may, 
to him, seem reasonable. 

6. Every miner shall be entitled to the use of so much 
of the water naturally flowing through or j^ast his claim, 
and not already lawfully appropriated, as shall, in the 
opinion of the Superintendent of Mines, be necessary for 
the due working thereof ; and shall be entitled to drain his 
own claim free of charge. 

7. A claim shall be deemed to be abandoned and open 
to occupation and entry by any person when the same shall 
have remained unworked on working days by the grantee 
thereof for the space of seventy-two hours, unless sickness 
or other reasonable cause be shown, or unless the grantee 
is absent on leave. 

8. A claim granted under these Eegulations shall be con- 
tinuously, and in good faith, worked, excejit as otherwise 



APPENBIX. 197 

provided, by the grantee thereof or b}- some person on his 
behalf. 

9. In tunnelling under hills, on the frontage of which 
angles occur, or which may be of an oblong or elliptical 
form, no party shall be allowed to tunnel from any of the 
said angles, or from either end of such hills, so as to in- 
terfere with parties tunnelling from the main frontage. 

10. Tunnels and shafts shall be considered as belonging 
to the claim for the use of which they are constructed, and 
as abandoned or forfeited by the abandonment or forfeiture 
of the claim itself. 

11. For the more convenient working of back claims on 
benches or slopes, the Superintendent of Mines may per- 
mit the owners thereof to drive a tunnel through the claims 
fronting on any creek, ravine, or water-course, upon such 
terms as he may deem expedient. 



HEAEIXG AXD DECISION OF DISPUTES. 

1. The Superintendent of Mines shall have j)ower to 
hear and determine all disputes in regard to mining jjrop- 
erty arising within his district, subject to apj)eal by either 
of the parties to the Commissioner of Dominion Lands. 

2. No particular forms of procedure shall be necessary, 
but the matter complained of must be properly expressed 
in writing, and a copy of the complaint shall be served on 
the opposite party not less than seven days before the hear- 
ing of the said complaint. 

3. The complaint may, by leave of the Superintendent 
of Mines, be amended at any time before or during the 
proceedings. 



198 APPENDIX. 

4. The complainant shall, at the time of filing his 
complaint, deposit therewith a bond-fee, which shall be 
returned to him if the complaint proves to have been 
well founded, and not otherwise, except for special cause, 
by direction of the Minister of the Interior. 

5. In the event of the decision of the Superintendent of 
Mines being made the subject of an appeal to the Com- 
missioner of Dominion Lands, the appellant shall, at the 
time of lodging the appeal, deposit with the Agent a 
bond-fee, which shall be returned to the said appellant 
if his appeal proves to have been well founded, and not 
otherwise, excejot for special cause, by direction of the 
Minister of the Interior. 

6. The appeal must be in writing and must be lodged 
with the Superintendent of Mines not more than three 
days after his decision has been communicated in writing 
to all the parties interested, and must state the grounds 
upon Avhicli the said decision is appealed from. 

7. If the Commissioner of Dominion Lands decides 
that it is necessary to a proper decision of the matter iu 
issue to have an investigation on the ground, or, in cases 
of disputed boundaries or measurements, to employ a 
surveyor to measure or survey the land in question, the 
expense of the inspection or re-measurement or re-survey, 
as the case may be, shall be borne by the litigants, who 
shall pay into the hands of the said Commissioner, in equal 
parts, such sum as he may think sufficient for the same, 
before it takes place ; otherwise, it shall not proceed, and 
the party who refuses to pay such sum shall be adjudged 
in default. The said Commissioner shall subsequently 
decide in what proportion the said expense should be borne 
by the parties respectively, and the surplusage, if any, 
shall then be returned to the parties, as he may order. 



APPENDIX. 199 

8. All bond-fees adjudged as forfeited and all jiayments 
retained under the last preceding section, shall, as soon as 
decision has been rendered, and all entry and other fees or 
moneys shall, as soon as they have been received by him, 
be paid by the said Agent or Commissioner to tlie credit 
of the Receiver-General in the same manner as other 
moneys received by him on account of Dominion Lands. 

ADMINISTRATIOX. 

1. In case of the death of any miner while entered as 
the holder of any mining claim, the provisions as to aban- 
donment shall not ajiply either during his last illness or 
after his decease. 

2. The Minister of the Interior shall take possession of 
the mining pro^Dcrty of the deceased, and may cause such 
mining property to be duly worked, or dispense therewith, 
at his option ; and he shall sell the property l)y private 
sale, or, after ten days' notice thereof, by public auction,, 
upon such terms as he shall deem just, and out of the pro- 
ceeds pay all costs and charges incurred thereby, and pay 
tlie balance, if any, to the legal representatives of the said 
deceased miner. 

3. The Minister of the Interior, or any person authorized 
by him, shall take charge of all the property of deceased 
miners until the issue of letters of administration. 



200 APPENDIX. 



A SHOET ROUTE. 

J. G. C. LEWIS TELLS OF A NEW WAY TO KEACH THE 
GOLD REGIO]Sr. 

Washington, Aug. 3, 1897. 

There is a short and easy route to the rich gold fields of 
the Klondyke, according to a communication to the in- 
terior department from J. G. C. Lewis, a civil engineer of 
Salem, Or., who says he can open up, at small expense, a 
route from the mouth of the Copper river, by which the 
Klondyke may be reached by a journey of not much more 
than 300 miles from the coast. 

The route which he proposes would start inland from the 
mouth of the Copper river, near the Miles glacier, about 
25 miles east of the entrance to Prince William sound. 
He declares the Copper river is navigable for small steamers 
for many miles beyond the mouth of its j^rincipal eastern 
tributary, called on the latest maps the Chillyna river, 
which is itself navigable for a considerable distance. 

From the head of navigation on the Chillyna, Mr. Lewis 
says, either a highway or a railroad could be constructed 
without great difficulty or very heavy grades through what 
the natives call the '* low pass," probably the Scoloi pass. 
From this pass the road would follow the valley of the 
White River to the point it where it empties into the 
Yukon, on the edge of the Klondyke gold fields. 



APPENDIX. 201 

George F. Boolcor, in an impnblished report made to the 
geological survey, ofliis investigation in 1805 of the coastal 
gold districts, says that most of the island of the Alexander 
Archipelago contain gold deposits yet iinworked, lliat 
would probably repay very handsomely well-directed eitorts 
of placer mining. These deposits are in the neighborhood 
of Sitka and generally on Baronetf and Admiralty islands 
and the beaches of the adjacent mainland. 

Another fairly promising region is in a group of deposits 
on the Kenal peninsula, on the southeast shore of Cook 
inlet, and the Yak u tat bay and tlie beaches of Kadiak 
island. These regions have as yet been explored only to a 
limited degree, owing to the unfavorable physical condition 
of the coast. 

Under orders issued by Acting Secretary of War, Meikel- 
john, Cajitain P. H. Eay and Lieutenant Richardson, of 
the Eighth Infantry, have started from Fort D. A. Russell, 
Wy., for Alaska. Their orders are to go as far as Circle 
City, at least, and make as much of an investigation as the 
short time remaining will permit. 

The following circular has been issued l)y the Northern 
Pacific Railwav : 



St. Paul, Mii^n., July 28, 1897. 
To General and District Passenger Agents : 

I append herewith copy of recent letter from Mr. I. A. 
Nadeau, our general agent at Seattle, relative to the re- 
cently discovered Klondyke region, in the Yukon district, 
Alaska. This letter is based upon the most authentic and 
reliable information now obtainable from those just re- 



202 APPENDIX. 

turned from this wonderfnl^country. It will bo of interest 
to yon and those inquiring about the region. 

The schedule following the letter showing supplies nec- 
essary per man — unless otherwise mentioned — is based up- 
on interviews with returned miners and others from the 
Klondyke, and was actually so used by a party from Seattle 
going to the mines. 

There are two established routes into the Klondyke 
country. One is via the ocean to St Michael's, thence via 
river steamer up the Yukon to Dawson City. The mouth 
of the Yukon River is sixty miles from St. Michael's ; dis- 
tance from St. Michael's to Klondyke, 2000 miles. Facil- 
ities on the Yukon consist of two stern-wheel steamers be- 
longing to the Alaska Commercial Co., and the steamers 
P. B. Weare, J. J. Ilealy, of the North American Trans- 
portation & Trading Co., and a third boat, the C. H. 
Hamilton, of the latter company, which is expected to be 
ready in a couple of weeks. The Yukon is shallow in 
places, and it is impracticable to operate steamers having a 
draught of more than 4-1^ feet. 

The other route,^and the one which will be principally 
travelled is from Dyea, over the trail, via Chilcoot Pass, 
to Lake Lindeman, thence through the chain of lakes 
which you will see on any Alaska map into the Lewes 
River, and down the Yukon to the Klondyke, The route 
via Dyea is by steamer from Seattle running direct to Dyea, 
where they pack over Chilcoot Pass to Lake Lindeman, at 
which place they build boats usually 22 to 24 feet long and 
4|- to 5 feet wide, which are taken through the lakes, while 
the provisions have to be packed over two short portages, 
one 1^ mile and one about f mile, while the boat is taken 
through the small streams. The distance via this latter 
route is a follows : — 



APPENDIX. 203 

Miles. Miles. 

Seattle to Juneau 899 

* Juneau to Dyea 90 

D3'ea to Lake Lindeman ;^8 

Across Lake Lindeman 6 

Portage, Lindeman to Lake Bennett. ... 1~\ 
Across Lake Bennett to Caribou Crossing 30 

Across Tagisli Lake 19 

Six-Mile Eiver to Mud Lake 6 

Across Mud Lake 20 

Fifty-Mile Eiver from ]\[ud Lake to Lake 

LeBarge 50 

Across Lake LeBarge 31 

Thirty-Mile River to Ilootalinqua River.. 30 
Down Hootalinqua and Lewes Rivers to 

Fort Selkirk 187 

Fort Selkirk down the Yukon to Dawson 

City 195 

Total distance from Dyea to Dawson 

City 603i 



1598i 



Over the Chilcoot Pass, the highest elevation of Avhich 
is said to be 2,000 feet, the trail in jilaces is very steeji, 
and outfits have to be packed over by men for a distance of 
eight miles, for the remainder of the distance pack trains 
are used. There are only two dangerous rapids encoun- 
tered on this route, and they are at White Horse Rapids, 
between Mud Lake and Lake LeBarge, and at Five Fingers 
on the Lewes River, about eighty miles south of its con- 

* If steamers, however, go direct to Dyea this distance would 
be shortened perhaps 20 miles. 



204 APPENDIX. 

fluence witli the Pelly. So far as I can learn no serious 
casualties have occurred at these places. A few prospec- 
tors by unskilful management have lost their outfits, but 
Seattle parties who went in last spring state that with ordi- 
nary care there is no difficulty. For packing freight 
across from Dyea to Lake Lindeman it cost, if hired, from 
18-2- to 20 cents per pound. Some parties at Seattle yester- 
day contracted to have 15,000 pounds packed across at a 
rate of 18|^ cents per pound. 

On the Cleveland, which is to sail August 5th — accom- 
modations ail taken — the rate announced is $200 for all 
classes, but on September 10 the steamer Portland will 
sail from Seattle for St. Michael's, fare 1100, including 
meals and berth. 

The Klondyke is a stream, about 140 miles in length, 
running in a generally westerly direction and the gold 
bearing creeks where the richest finds have been made, 
run into the Klondyke from a generally southerly direc- 
tion. Two and one half miles of the Klondyke from its 
confluence with the Yiikon, is Bonanza Creek which has 
several small tributaries. Twelve miles from where the 
Bonanza enters into the Klondyke, running approxi- 
mately parallel with the Yukon is Eldorado Creek which is 
12 to 15 miles in length. About four miles further up Bo- 
nanza Creek is Gold Bottom Creek. About seven miles 
further up is Adams Creek and then come several small 
streams which bear local names. Bonanza Creek is vari- 
ously estimated at from 24 to 30 miles in length. Twelve 
miles up the Klondyke is Bear Creek, which also has a few 
small tributaries. About twelve miles further up Klondyke 
is Hunker Creek, and about the same distance from there 
up the Klondyke, is Too Much Gold Creek. The whole 
delta of these creeks is where the richest finds have been 
made and principally on the Bonanza and Eldorado, develop- 



APPENDIX. 205 

ment on the other creeks not being so far advanced although 
rich strikes are reported on all of them. About 50 miles 
south on the Yukon from Klondyke is Indian River which 
runs in a more south-westerly direction. Eunning out of 
Indian Creek is Quartz Creek, a well explored creek, about 
50 miles from the confluence of Indian Creek and Yukon 
Eiver. About six miles from the mouth of Quartz Creek, 
extending in a northerly direction to the range of hills 
which separate the delta of the Indian Creek f roui that of 
the Klondyke is First Left Hand Fork. About eight miles 
further up Quartz Creek, running in the same direction is 
Kettleson Fork. From the opposite side and running in 
the opposite direction out of Quartz Creek, about five or 
six miles from the mouth of Quartz Creek, is Phil Creek. 
These latter from latest reports are being extensively pros- 
pected and good finds being made. 






•& 



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KLONDYKE FACTS 

By JOSEPH LADUE 

Founder of Dawson City 

Is also published in fine cloth binding, and contains additional 
Maps and Illustrations, direct from photographs, of special value 
to the intending prospector, as follows : 

Portrait of Author 

A Miner's Camp on the Big Bonanza 

Fort Cudahy 

Ice Breaking up on the Yukon 

Internationai^ Boundary Line across the Yukon 

Junction of Forty Mile and Yukon Rivers 

Miles Canon 

Lake Lindeman 

Joseph Ladue's House 

White Horse Rapids 

The maps are of special value, being from the most recent 
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Maps of the entire Yukon River and its tributaries, showing 
Alaska and the Northwest in two sections drawn to a scale. 

Map of Forty Mile and Sixty Mile Rivers and their tributaries. 

Map showing the northern boundary of British Columbia and 
the Northwest Coast Range. 

The illustrations in this edition are beautifully printed on 
special surface paper from photo half-tone engravings. 

The cloth covers show a fac-simile reproduction in gold of 
one of the author's gold nuggets from the Klondyke. 

This edition can be taken by the prospector as the most reli- 
able and authentic guide for the trip to the gold regions. 

The cloth bound book is sent postpaid on receipt of fi.oo by 
tlie publishers. 

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